Millions of people from New York and around the country visit Disney theme parks each year, and the vast majority of them return home happy and uninjured. However, that does not mean theme parks cannot be dangerous places. A woman who visited Walt Disney World in October 2019 with her husband and children found this out when she suffered serious injuries after riding a water slide at the Typhoon Lagoon Water Park. In September 2023, media outlets reported that the woman had filed a premises liability lawsuit against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts seeking more than $50,000 in damages.
Water slide “wedgie”
The water slide the woman rode drops 214 feet in complete darkness. To prevent injuries, the base of the slide features a pool of water to slow riders down. The woman claims in her premises liability lawsuit that she suffered severe and permanent injury when entering this pool of water at high speed forced her swimsuit into her body. Her attorney referred to her injury as a kind of “wedgie.”
Negligence
The woman was transported by ambulance to two local hospitals. According to media reports, the first medical facility she was taken to did not have a gynecological injury specialist available to treat her. The woman claims Disney either knew or should have known that the Humunga Kowabunga water slide posed a danger to female riders. She also criticizes the theme park operator for not providing shorts to women wearing loose-fitting swimsuits and failing to warn riders about the risk of injury.
Premises liability
Premises liability lawsuits are based on the tort of negligence. The plaintiffs who file them may recover damages when their harm was caused by a dangerous situation that the defendant knew about or would have known about if they acted reasonably.