Woman Suing Walt Disney World After Being Knocked Over During “Stampede”
A guest has filed a personal injury lawsuit against Walt Disney World after she was “knocked over” and injured during a “stampede” on Main Street, U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom. The plaintiff, who hails from Pennsylvania, visited Magic Kingdom on June 25, 2024. According to her lawsuit, the park was “packed and extremely busy” that day. As she was walking on Main Street, U.S.A., “a crowd of people rushed her and knocked her over in a stampede.”
The lawsuit contends that the plaintiff suffered bodily and terminal injury, mental and physical pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, hospitalization expenses, and lost wages.
According to Disney’s website, several security measures are in place in its parks. These include uniformed police officers, specially trained hazard detection canines, security screening technology, bag checks, and more.
Amusement park liability lawsuits
Generally speaking, amusement parks are sued on the grounds of premises liability and product liability. Product liability lawsuits are related to their rides. Amusement parks are strictly liable for injuries that are caused by their rides. That means you do not need to prove negligence to win your case against an amusement park. You only need to prove that you followed instructions when they were given by the theme park and were injured as a result.
The aforementioned lawsuit, however, is a premises liability lawsuit. In a premises liability lawsuit, you do need to prove negligence. Negligence is proven on the grounds of foreseeability. In other words, you must establish that the premises owner or operator knew or should have known about a dangerous condition that led to the plaintiff’s injuries.
While we have never heard about “stampede” lawsuits emerging from Disney, and it’s unclear what negligence grounds the plaintiff is alleging, we can guess that the plaintiff is going to say that Disney created a dangerous condition on their premises that led to the plaintiff’s injury.
Premises liability lawsuits
Property owners have a responsibility to keep their premises reasonably free from hazardous conditions that could injure one of their guests. When a theme park fails to take this responsibility seriously, it can be held liable for injuries. Many of the lawsuits filed against theme parks involve claims of premises liability. These include slip-and-fall lawsuits.
In a slip-and-fall lawsuit, the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant:
- Knew about the dangerous condition
- Would have known about the dangerous condition had they exercised ordinary care
- Created the dangerous condition
Should Disney have reasonably expected the crowd to rush toward the woman and knock her over? Was this Disney’s fault or the crowd’s fault? Who is liable in this situation? It’s hard to tell. The plaintiff has the burden of proving that Disney either knew about the dangerous condition or caused it to exist. At this point, it’s unclear whether she can prove that or not.
Talk to a Jacksonville, FL Theme Park Injury Attorney
Gillette Law represents the interests of plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits filed against proprietors. Call our Jacksonville personal injury lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your case immediately.
Source:
fox35orlando.com/news/walt-disney-world-tourist-knocked-over-injured-stampede-magic-kingdom-lawsuit-says
