Lawsuit Alleges Severe Injuries on Disney Ride

A Florida man is suing Disney World after he allegedly suffered “catastrophic” injuries while riding down a waterslide.

Eugene Strickland lodged a lawsuit on Thursday in the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in Orange County, Florida, where Disney is located. Strickland is seeking damages exceeding $50,000, alleging negligence on the part of the theme park.

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The lawsuit details that on July 31, 2021, Strickland visited the Blizzard Beach water park and opted to ride the Downhill Double Dipper waterslide. At that time, Strickland’s weight was 334 pounds. The plaintiff’s attorneys point out that the American Society for Testing and Materials advises against individuals over 300 pounds using single-rider waterslides. The specific requirements for this slide are unclear.

Upon using an inner tube on the slide, Strickland “became temporarily airborne due to the ride’s ‘exhilarating speeds’ and structure, which led to the inner tube being unexpectedly and forcefully removed from beneath him. This caused Strickland to impact harshly with the hard plastic surface of the slide, resulting in severe and permanent injuries.”

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According to the suit filed on behalf of Strickland by Morgan & Morgan, the inner tube he used was defective. The theme park used “deficient/inadequate/ineffective/underinflated inner tubes to be utilized on the premises knowing that they could forcefully dislodged from under the patrons relying on them,” plaintiff lawyers wrote.

The lawsuit claims Disney knew of the “dangerous condition” of the ride which was a “safety hazard.” As a result, Strickland suffered “scarring [and] disfigurement,” the lawsuit said.