A New Disney Lawsuit

[meldan98]

Disabled rider sues Disneyland after being stuck on "Small World"

A quadriplegic man is suing Disneyland, alleging the theme park left him on the "It's A Small World" ride for 40 minutes after it had stalled while staff evacuated other passengers.

By The Associated Press


ANAHEIM, Calif. — A quadriplegic man is suing Disneyland in federal court, alleging the theme park left him on the "It's A Small World" ride for 40 minutes after it had stalled while staff evacuated other passengers.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, alleges Disneyland violated the Americans With Disabilities Act because it didn't have proper procedures in place for evacuating disabled passengers from the ride.

Jose Martinez is also suing for negligence, emotional distress and liability.

He alleges Disney employees did not summon paramedics when his blood-pressure spiked while he was trapped on the ride.

Disneyland Resorts says in a statement it is accessible to all guests and has procedures in place for evacuating disabled customers.

[EeyoresBestFriend]

Jose Martinez is also suing for negligence, emotional distress and liability.

He alleges Disney employees did not summon paramedics when his blood-pressure spiked while he was trapped on the ride.

All I can say is "seriously" ?!?!?

I agree that having to listen to that song may cause emotional distress, but really. . . . "trapped on the ride" ?!?!?

He really doesn't sound like a Disney type of person . . . .

[cajunprincess]

He didn't sound "Disney" to me either!

[Scar]

Need more info before an opinion is formed.

[kakn7294]

Need more info before an opinion is formed.

Me too. We don't really know what happened here and I'm sure this report is only part of the story.

[luvdiznee]

He alleges Disney employees did not summon paramedics when his blood-pressure spiked while he was trapped on the ride.

Just wondering how would he know his BP spiked? I geuss he had a monitor with him.

[Dirty Bird Street]

I don't want to weigh in on what this person went through, comment on its authenticity, or jump to any conclusions. I will also note that I am not a lawyer; however, I play one in real life. What interests me is the following:

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, alleges Disneyland violated the Americans With Disabilities Act because it didn't have proper procedures in place for evacuating disabled passengers from the ride.

Jose Martinez is also suing for negligence, emotional distress and liability.

When it comes to whether or not "proper procedures [were] in place for evacuating disabled passengers," that seems to be a pretty easy claim for Disney to counter. Given the size and overall legal oversight at a corporation the size and age of Disney, one must assume there are some codified training manuals or material specifically related to Americans with Disability Act compliance, or at least procedures for attraction operation and evacuation that deal with the question of disabled guests. A person far more slick than myself could spend years dissecting the nature of "proper" in defining such procedures, but I think that might fail to be compelling at trial.

As far as negligence goes, if Disney's ADA-related material shows the cast members and other staffers were operating by the book, and if that procedure is not in and of itself in violation of the ADA, then negligence would seem to fall out with that first argument. In regards to his hypertensive crisis, unless he is able to demonstrate organ damage due to his spike in blood pressure, I would tend to believe it fails to meet the standard of compensable injury.

Emotional distress, then, would be the component that is most subject to interpretation by those hearing the case. As it is largely subjective and by self-report, it is difficult both to prove and disprove. How does/did this emotional distress affect his activities of daily living? Are there ongoing effects from this emotional distress? If so, are they demonstrably related to being stuck on It's A Small World?

It'll be interesting to see how this one pans out. And, above all else, I wish this gentleman health and wellness going forward, no matter the outcome of this lawsuit.

[dnickels]

I notice two questions about the blood pressure issue, so as a fellow spinal-cord injury person I'll add a little info to the discussion.

Individuals with spinal cord injuries (especially a quadriplegic) are at risk for something called 'Autonomic Dysreflexia' (AD) - find it on Wikipedia if you want to read more about it. Basically it's a really, really bad deal highlighted by....(wait for it, wait for it)... severe blood pressure spikes and a lot of other unpleasant stuff.

I don't know if being stuck on the ride could cause that or not for this individual but if a quadriplegic was placed in a stressful or painful situation it's not at all unusual to think that it could trigger a problem with AD.

[joonyer]

If this case ever makes it to trial, which it probably won't) they'll only need to play the "It's a Small World" music for the jury for 40 minutes while they are confined to the jury room. A large verdict for the plaintiff will be certain.

[johnO]

Sounds like a "Slip and Fall" routine to me.

[Dirty Bird Street]

I notice two questions about the blood pressure issue, so as a fellow spinal-cord injury person I'll add a little info to the discussion.

Individuals with spinal cord injuries (especially a quadriplegic) are at risk for something called 'Autonomic Dysreflexia' (AD) - find it on Wikipedia if you want to read more about it. Basically it's a really, really bad deal highlighted by....(wait for it, wait for it)... severe blood pressure spikes and a lot of other unpleasant stuff.

I don't know if being stuck on the ride could cause that or not for this individual but if a quadriplegic was placed in a stressful or painful situation it's not at all unusual to think that it could trigger a problem with AD.

I've only dealt with a few clients that had experienced issues with AD, but in most of my reading of the literature, its primary causes involved gastrointestinal or urological blockages. I'm not saying that it can't be caused by stress, I'm just unfamiliar with that claim. As far as pain goes, I guess at that point they'd have to demonstrate that the position he was placed in was inherently painful, no? Otherwise causality won't be established.

If it did turn out that AD was triggered by this event, then it changes a some aspects of the case (e.g., was he put in a position that put greater than usual stress on his body). Also, if he had to go through the usual battery of AD symptoms, then this little article severely understated the medical basis for his lawsuit.

[badkitty]

I don't want to comment on the health and well-being of the person sueing Disneyland because I don't know his situation.

But, when someone decides to enjoy an amusement park ride, isn't it pretty much "ride-at-your-own-risk"? Many guests have been trapped on rides that break-down and I would think a responsible adult would weigh the risks before entering the ride whether it be IASW or BTMRR or...

[VWL Mom]

He had to wait while they CM's evacuated others and this is a problem why

His blood pressure spiked, but guess what, I have bp problems and mine spikes when I am anxious (yes I have meds for both).

I too think more info is necessary for the judge/jury to hear. Where was his boat, did they bypass his boat to get to others, etc.

[Frog]

i would pay money to be stuck on iasmw for a few minutes right now
Chuck Swindoll has a really nice piece on "attitude" that would be very applicable in most cases like this (pending more info).
I think this pros writing needs to be a mandatory memorization exercise before anyone can get a diploma...

[shadowden]

All I have to say is GOOD GRIEF....

[BrerGnat]

I'm going to assume this man remained in his wheelchair, and used an accessible boat (the one that you can just roll onto). You have to be able to transfer from your wheelchair in order to ride the "regular" boats, and I assume a quadriplegic could not accomplish this, nor remain safely seated in the regular boat seat.

So, if he was still in his wheelchair, onboard a special boat, how is that any different than just sitting in the wheelchair while doing any number of other activities. That is, if he's confined to a wheelchair anyway, doesn't he spend more than 40 min at a time sitting in it all day long?

On IASW at Disneyland, the boats run in a trough. There are several areas of the ride where you would not be able to evacuate easily, because you are in a "transition room", and there is no floor platform even with the boats to step out on. If you get stopped in one of these areas, they have to evacuate the boats in the front first, so they can then move them forward to an area that is easier to evacuate from. If this guy was in his wheelchair, and he was stuck in an area where they could not conceivably place a ramp for him to safely roll off, that's really not Disney's fault. I can see how it would take 40 min to evacuate and move enough boats so that a boat could move into an appropriate location to exit.

Now, in the event of a serious emergency, like a fire, most able bodied people would simply be able to jump out of the boats and walk along the trough to the numerous emergency exits along the route. I would guess that in a truly dangerous situation, the CMs would go to to the aid of anyone who needed special assistance first.

[thrillme]

I just read about this. Interesting. He was awarded $8,000? Seems like a "small" award compared to the hundreds of thousands people usually try for. I'm not sure how a quadrapalgic could "transfer" as opposed to "roll on" but OK (one article said he didn't have access to his wheelchair). They said he was subject to "panic attacks". I guess I'm not in his shoes but a 30 minute "small world" breakdown shouldn't cause a "panic attack" the song can be a bit annoying but...The article said he had to go to the bathroom which caused a spike in blood pressure. Small World is a rather lenghty ride. I would imagine he'd have gone before but. OK.

I do wish the fella the best health possible but maybe rides at Disney aren't his bag. ANY ride can break down, I've experienced several...You've just got to hope you're not on an upside down coaster at the time. There's warnings on just about EVERY ride no matter how mild...He apparently learned a hard lesson about what those warnings mean. Maybe Disney was a little lax in reassuring him they were going to get him off.

[Belle of the Ball 051411]

I'm going to assume this man remained in his wheelchair, and used an accessible boat (the one that you can just roll onto). You have to be able to transfer from your wheelchair in order to ride the "regular" boats, and I assume a quadriplegic could not accomplish this, nor remain safely seated in the regular boat seat.

So, if he was still in his wheelchair, onboard a special boat, how is that any different than just sitting in the wheelchair while doing any number of other activities. That is, if he's confined to a wheelchair anyway, doesn't he spend more than 40 min at a time sitting in it all day long?

On IASW at Disneyland, the boats run in a trough. There are several areas of the ride where you would not be able to evacuate easily, because you are in a "transition room", and there is no floor platform even with the boats to step out on. If you get stopped in one of these areas, they have to evacuate the boats in the front first, so they can then move them forward to an area that is easier to evacuate from. If this guy was in his wheelchair, and he was stuck in an area where they could not conceivably place a ramp for him to safely roll off, that's really not Disney's fault. I can see how it would take 40 min to evacuate and move enough boats so that a boat could move into an appropriate location to exit.

Now, in the event of a serious emergency, like a fire, most able bodied people would simply be able to jump out of the boats and walk along the trough to the numerous emergency exits along the route. I would guess that in a truly dangerous situation, the CMs would go to to the aid of anyone who needed special assistance first.

My thoughts exactly! I also agree with previous posters regarding "assuming the risk".

[Quadstriker]

I just read about this. Interesting. He was awarded $8,000? Seems like a "small" award compared to the hundreds of thousands people usually try for.

**If true**, sounds like a classic case of "go away" money - in that it would cost Disney more than $8 grand to assemble their defense in a legal dispute. Here. Have 8 grand and go away.

[DVC2004]

"Small World", small award. LOL.