Picture it. You’re on the ferry from the parking lot to the Magic Kingdom. It’s kind of noisy, but at least you don’t have to put up with the weird smells on the monorail. Then, WHAMO, the boat crashes, and you’re on the phone with a lawyer!
It happens that quickly, but the wheels of justice move slowly … and so do attorneys sometimes.
On April 27, 2023, the Richard F. Irvine ferry ran into a dock at the famed Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida. The resulting collision allegedly caused severe injury to a guest named Justin Tripp. The website Florida Politics informed us about the legal action.
Tripp was said to have been “thrown into a steel pillar where he hit his neck and head. He eventually fell into a trash can which prevented him from possibly being thrown overboard,” according to a lawsuit filed yesterday.
It’s unclear what caused the vessel not to slow down when reaching the dock. The document claims that Disney, through the actions/training of the ferry’s captain, was negligent and failed to keep up proper maintenance on the ship.
Oddly, Tripp’s compensation request is relatively minor. He or his attorney is asking for $50K, with “prejudgment interest, post-judgment interest, and costs” included.
I’ve ridden the ferry from parking to the Magic Kingdom way more times than I could remember over the past four decades, and not once did I ever experience an issue. However, these things do happen sometimes. This past week, we saw boats hit two bridges just days apart!
However, this is Disney; there’s always a hyper-focus on what’s happening.
People being hurt while riding on Walt Disney World’s various aquatic vehicles isn’t as uncommon as you’d think. In 2019, a guest fell off the ferry into the Seven Seas Lagoon. This past February, a disabled guest also found himself in the water of Rivers of America after a Cast Member refused to let him stabilize himself on the raft.
Those are the only legal issues caused by guests being injured or worse on Disney property. The family of a New York doctor is suing the company and the owners of Raglan Road after the physician died from an alleged food allergy.
While it may sound like many lawsuits, most large corporations are nearly always in court for some in the grand scheme of things. Since this is the Walt Disney Company, we tend to hear about it way more often. I was blissfully unaware that the company I used to work for had 90+ pending suits in the courts up and down the mid-Atlantic.
Have you ever been injured on Disney property and considered taking legal action? Let us know!
[Source: Florida Politics]
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