Asking for a discount

[dizneydiva2005]

Exactly! Slip and fall cases are extremly difficult to prove and win under Florida case law. Furthermore, I think a court would look at the actions took after the accident -providing appropriate and immediate medical care, and making sure the medical bill was paid. If you were looking for free passes, or a discount on the room, I would have brought it up during the time of the accident, and not after the fact. Ultimately, Disney is a business, and I think will not offer more compensation than they feel is necessary or maybe what they feel they can "get away with."

At this point, the trauma your family incurred is just another blip on the screen, an incident report stuck in a filing cabinet somewhere, buried with countless others. I think you need to be satisfied that your son received proper treatment, there wasn't (hopefully) any lasting trauma, and that no medical bills were incurred. Chalk it up to a random, unfortunate event that could have happened to anyone, and move on.

Personally, I don't agree with this post what so ever!

Bottom line is- the son got hurt due to a slippery floor while on Disney property. Disney should be held to that fact.

I wonder if you would be able to 'chalk it up to a RANDOM, UNFORTUNATE event if you or your loved one was the one who got hurt and bummed out the vacation {which isn't cheap} for the entire family???
And for you to say be satisfied that her son received proper care is just a joke! Seriously, think about that for a min.
So you get hurt at disney - not your fault, you would just sit back and say, Well, I got proper care and I'll just be thankful it was just a random event. Too bad we lost out on part of our vacation- but I'm grateful none the less??

 

[Brian Noble]

That's the best you could come up with for a response?

Well, I could have done a lot better, but it probably would have gotten me points from a Moderator.

Sounds to me as if the OP, months after the fact, is looking for a new angle, and trying to see what might stick. To which I respond: good luck with that.

 

[Disney1976]

Frankly, I'm surprised they covered the medical bills. That could be considered an admission of responsibility for the accident. As far as asking for further compensation (room discount, etc.), any such request (if it involves something of monetary value as opposed to a Mickey signature) likely will immediately be turned over to WDW's insurer. You'll get no where fast once that happens.

If you want something additional from WDW, get an attorney. You may need one located in Orlando, Florida. An insurer is likely to offer a settlement for the pain and suffering. An insurer won't offer anything for lost enjoyment of the other kids.

I can see the flaming starting already! Flame away. A basic principle of our law is that when someone is negligent and causes injury to another, the negligent person is expected to pay for the injury caused.

I have no idea why someone would say slip and fall cases are difficult to prove in Florida. Cases please?

In this instance, there were tons of witnesses. And, a court will not necessarily decide that what WDW has paid to date is enough. That is often within a jury's province, not the court's.

And, these sorts of cases never get to court anyway. They settle.

Lots of arm chair "attorneys" on these boards!

Well, right now, I'm half-heartedly working on a motion for summary judgment to get our client out of a multi-million dollar construction litigation matter that is boring me to tears, hence I'm here -but by no stretch of the imagination am I an "arm chair attorney" -I am a licensed Florida practioner. That being said, I wasn't trying to give legal advice, but offering an educated legal opinion.

Yes, it's true a basic pricinple of negligence is that if one party has a duty to another and they breach that duty, resulting in damages, they can be liable. But like every 'rule of law', there are countless exceptions. In slip and fall cases, you have to look at all of the surrounding circumstances and the knowlede of the faulty party. If for instance, the slippery spot had been caused by a drink another guest had spilled 5 minutes earlier, and a cast member hadn't noticed it and hadn't been told about it, recovery will likely be denied. On the other hand, if the spill had been there, say, an hour, long enough for a CM to notice it, maybe even be told about it, and they ignored it, then that makes for a much stronger case. Not a guaranteed win (I clerked for an attorney who lost a case where he PROVED knowledge of a supermarket of a dangerous condition and failure to remedy and still lost), but a much better fact pattern. If the wetness was caused by rain and people walking through, I would think that's a different situation -you'd probably have to look at how Disney normally handles that situation, whether it be through warning guests as they walk in, putting signs up, constantly having a cleanup crew on site, or whatever.

Now, you seem like an attorney, so you'll remember these principles from first year torts. As for cases in Florida dealing with this -jump on Westlaw or Lexis, you'll find them. I do agree that by asking for a discount based on this incident, it will immediately get turned over -but not to Disney's insurer. I would expect it would be turned over to the legal department, or any request for a discount or compensation would be answered with a letter to contact their legal department. And one thing people who sue Disney soon learn -under his white glove, Mickey has a steel claw. I think they'd fight a claim before paying out money to anyone just because then can.

 

[maxiesmom]

So you get hurt at disney - not your fault, you would just sit back and say, Well, I got proper care and I'll just be thankful it was just a random event. Too bad we lost out on part of our vacation- but I'm grateful none the less??

Be grateful that the costly medical bills were paid, and your son is healthy? YES! I'm betting whatever Disney paid in bills was way more than whatever small discount the OP could maybe get.

And didn't the OP say there weren't going to sue???

 

[Disney1976]

Personally, I don't agree with this post what so ever!

Bottom line is- the son got hurt due to a slippery floor while on Disney property. Disney should be held to that fact.

I wonder if you would be able to 'chalk it up to a RANDOM, UNFORTUNATE event if you or your loved one was the one who got hurt and bummed out the vacation {which isn't cheap} for the entire family???
And for you to say be satisfied that her son received proper care is just a joke! Seriously, think about that for a min.
So you get hurt at disney - not your fault, you would just sit back and say, Well, I got proper care and I'll just be thankful it was just a random event. Too bad we lost out on part of our vacation- but I'm grateful none the less??

Without knowing all the facts and circumstances of the event? Yes, I would. If Disney had no knowledge of the dangerous condition before the injury occurred, a court may find them not liable. I think they responded appropriately to the circumstances -they ensured proper care was given and the bill was paid. It wasn't as if Disney purposely set a trap to cause harm to the child.

Bottom line, Disney is a business and isn't going to pay out to every Tom, Dick and Harry who feels they are entitled to something. Does this to some degree result in the people who are rightfully entitled perhaps being shortchanged by those who aren't entitled? Probably so, and that is unfortunate. Sometimes I hate what a few members of the legal profession have done by encouring this litigious society and this "me me me" entitlement mentality.

As for if it was me? I had a slip and fall of my own in a business earlier this year in a popular business, during a lunch rush, and was badly hurt. Not as badly as this child, but hurt. Not a single employee or manager did anything, said anything, or offered anything, even though numerous employees and at least one manager witnessed it. And I didn't go looking for anything. So yes, I would feel the same.

 

[ElizabethB]

I'll say it again. These cases settle. They don't go to court. Yes, if it actually went to court things like did employees have knowledge of the slipperiness, how long had the defect been there, etc., will matter. Those things, instead, factor into how much of a settlement one gets.

Since these cases are not worth the trouble and expense of going to court, they generally settle for an amount that seems fair to the plaintiff (and to the insurer) and that is that.

WDW is a business, yes. As a business, it has insurance for these sorts of things.

I agree that suing the Mouse isn't easy but no doubt there are Orlando attorneys who do it all the time.

 

[greenpea89]

Personally, I don't agree with this post what so ever!

Bottom line is- the son got hurt due to a slippery floor while on Disney property. Disney should be held to that fact.

I wonder if you would be able to 'chalk it up to a RANDOM, UNFORTUNATE event if you or your loved one was the one who got hurt and bummed out the vacation {which isn't cheap} for the entire family???
And for you to say be satisfied that her son received proper care is just a joke! Seriously, think about that for a min.
So you get hurt at disney - not your fault, you would just sit back and say, Well, I got proper care and I'll just be thankful it was just a random event. Too bad we lost out on part of our vacation- but I'm grateful none the less??

Actually, when our son was two he fell off of Cinderella's carousel and cut his forehead quite severely on the engine box (he had a concussion and today, 13 years later, still has a scar - while he finds the story embarrassing he says girls like it and think it's cute ). We missed the parks on the last two days of our trip because he was nauseous and his eye was swollen shut. Disney covered the cost of our medical bill and checked on him repeatedly, and while the design of the carousel floor slanted down so may have contributed to the fall, I primarily blamed my husband and myself for not holding his hand tightly enough. I feel Disney did more than enough for us. I didn't feel that they owed us anything more than what we received. Primarily we were grateful that he was OK. It's even a family joke now - he says that he's "been scared for life by Disney" and rolls his eyes when he doesn't want to go on a family trip to the world.

I am truly sorry to hear that your child was hurt and I'm thrilled that he's fine now ( he may even have a "chick magnet" story for his teen years ) but I do feel that Disney met it's responsibility to you and your child.
If you want to still try then I second the suggestion of sending a thank you letter and possibly requesting a get well card signed by your child's favorite character.

As one of the pps mentioned I see the AP pass as a frequent visitor discount and feel that the discounts on rooms and the dining experience card you may purchase with your AP are perks that reward frequent visitors. If you go twice a year, I wholeheartedly recommend purchasing an AP and the dining experience card. We feel the discounts are great and can't believe we didn't do it sooner!

 

[ElizabethB]

Disney didn't necessarily pay for the medical bills out of the kindness of its heart. Had Disney not paid, the OP would have submitted it to her medical insurer.

At that point, the medical insurer would have been subrogated to the OP's claim against Disney and if the medical bills were high enough, the medical insurer would have pursued a claim against Disney to recover what the medical insurer paid, seeking to find some negligence on Disney's part.

 

[nurse.darcy]

Actually, the OP probably WOULDN'T win. To win, he would have to prove that Disney was negiligent--that they knew the liquid was there and had an obligation to clean it up. That would mean proving that a spilled soda had been identified to a CM (if that's what the liquid was), and they did nothing. If a liquid had just been spilled, or was caused naturally (rain), then there would be no negligence on Disney's part. In fact, they would likely countersue for the cost of the medical treatment. And they have deeper pockets to fund a suit, not to mention lawyers who probably deal with these types of complaints on a daily basis.

Really, I see no fault or obligation on Disney's part. Perhaps I'm missing something (i.e., if there was a spill that Disney neglected). I'm sorry that the OP had to spend part of his vacation at the hospital, but this is really no different than a parent dealing with a sick child on vacation. BTDT, a few times, you just deal and move on.

Actually they might. Disney would probably settle out of court to avoid a trial and then pay some money up front for that settlement. Its a common practice among large corporations so that they avoid the nuissance lawsuit. This is why it costs so much to go to court.

 

[Disney1976]

I'll say it again. These cases settle. They don't go to court. Yes, if it actually went to court things like did employees have knowledge of the slipperiness, how long had the defect been there, etc., will matter. Those things, instead, factor into how much of a settlement one gets.

Since these cases are not worth the trouble and expense of going to court, they generally settle for an amount that seems fair to the plaintiff (and to the insurer) and that is that.

WDW is a business, yes. As a business, it has insurance for these sorts of things.

I agree that suing the Mouse isn't easy but no doubt there are Orlando attorneys who do it all the time.

Right, these cases settle...except Disney has a reputation for NOT settling, or only settling after a fight (and then of course I'm sure there's the standard no fault agreement, sealed, etc.). The logic behind that is probably due to the fact I'm sure Disney gets 500+ complaints/claims a day, and I'm certain they want to avoid a reputation as a company who pays out easy money.
I hope whatever the OP decides, it works out for him.

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

Thanks for not beind "sue happy" OP. I do agree that it is now a little too late to be asking for something, plus I think them covering the medical bills was really great as it is. I guess my issue is, what if the person 2 feet in front of you drops some of their drink on the ground as you are being loaded into the Lion King theatre. You or a child slips on it...am I really going to punish Disney because of another visitor, and them not being perfect enough to find every little spot I could slip on? I think we have to be careful with what is actually negligence, you know?

I am glad your son is ok, and that you had a good vacation otherwise. And I agree, a frequent visitor perk would be nice, nothing huge, but I would love to just have my room upgraded every now and then as a thank you, I mean we go twice a year!

 

[Disneyadore]

I would have been on my knees to thank God that my kid was not seriously hurt.


It just ridiculous that everyone seems to think that ever little injury that can just as easily happen at home is a reason to get money out of Disney.

Who do you complaint to ore ask for a discount it this happens at your own house?

 

[ols386]

Personally, I don't agree with this post what so ever!

Bottom line is- the son got hurt due to a slippery floor while on Disney property. Disney should be held to that fact.

I wonder if you would be able to 'chalk it up to a RANDOM, UNFORTUNATE event if you or your loved one was the one who got hurt and bummed out the vacation {which isn't cheap} for the entire family???
And for you to say be satisfied that her son received proper care is just a joke! Seriously, think about that for a min.
So you get hurt at disney - not your fault, you would just sit back and say, Well, I got proper care and I'll just be thankful it was just a random event. Too bad we lost out on part of our vacation- but I'm grateful none the less??

For me personally, yes, I would be thankful that my child received proper medical care, recovered from being injured, and grateful that Disney paid the medical bills...and I would let it go at that. You say that Disney 'should be held to the fact' that someone was injured on their property. Well, they were held to that. They reacted properly, and obtained medical treatment immediately, and paid the bill. I guess we all have our own opinion about a situation like this one.

 

[lnd2155]

Hello all, Here is my question. This past July we went to disney with my family disney son twins 20mnths old DD 33 months old my wife and mom and dad. We live in Kansas City ,Mo. about 1250 miles away and have gone pretty much 2 times a year for the last 10 years plus more when I was younger. When we were at animal kingdom, the floor in the lion king area was very wet and slippery and my DS fell from the slipperyness and cracked his head wide open. It was such a bad sound that many people got involved and he was bleeding very badly. I give tremendous kudos to this Dis staff for they immeadately guided us to a first aid center do to the mear sound and the amounts of blood flowing. Once he went to first aid, they were basically scared and had a car waiting and rushed him and my wife to urgent care. Urgent care was so freaked out they demanded he go to the emergency room at Celebration, where they checked him out and he got a few stitches. We never recieved a bill, which is awesome and why we keep coming back, even though we are lucky and have very good insurance through our employers. The only bad thing was after this the doctor told us to take it easy, which basicly meant our vacation was over with a couple of days to go. My other kids kind of got the shaft do to this. As you know, I am hearing from several people to do something crazy through attorneys. I AM NOT GOING TO DO THIS. I love the mouse. But, I think maybe a small discount or something,(nothing crazy) would be pretty nice to recieve. I feel it is crazy that Disney doed not all ready reward very frequent visitors. Even if it was 10% off ofthe rooms for my next stay would be great. What do you think? Who would I contact? Thank You

Just as an FYI.... Did you purchase the vacation protection insurance?? You could have submitted a claim through them for the remainder days worth of tickets that were not used. I don't want to put in my 2 cents in though about requesting a discount. I am a cast member, and I don't want to seemed biased.

 

[eliza61]

mouse. But, I think maybe a small discount or something,(nothing crazy) would be pretty nice to recieve. I feel it is crazy that Disney doed not all ready reward very frequent visitors. Even if it was 10% off ofthe rooms for my next stay would be great. What do you think? Who would I contact? Thank You

So sorry about your childs accident. The blood would have probably freaked me out. Anyway Disney does offer a frequent visitors program, they called it DVC
If you go yearly you get decent discounts with an AP pass

 

[kaytieeldr]

Preface: I like numbers. I did a quick analysis of the responses. For the most part, the more prolific posters are on the "no" side, while the less frequent posters think yes, the OP is owed more (than all medical bills, including transportation, covered):
No, Disney did enough/more than enough: 3,301.7 average post count (3,860.8, counting me)
Yes, the OP should request/expect more from Disney: 46.7 average post count
No opinion/neutral (with some 'no opinion' seeming to lean toward "yes"): 722.5 average post count
And if you combine the 'yes' and 'leaning toward yes' responders: 425.7 average post count

Results calculated using responses through 4:16 PM; not responsible for responses posted during calculations

 

[kaytieeldr]

Oh, yeah - my opinion.

Disney does not owe the OP or his family anything; however, if he is going to request any form of compensation over and above all medical bills paid and all associated transportation covered - since all that was actually 'lost' was two days' of ticket use by one adult (since, frankly, attitude is subjective), all that should be suggested/requested is replacement of two days' park admission for that one adult.

eta: and even that should be affected by the actual number of days admission that adult had on her/his ticket.
Example:
- - - two one-day tickets = no compensation, since neither would have been used and so neither expires until use.
- - - one three-day ticket with only one day used might be equal to $144 of tickets
- - - one ten-day ticket with eight days used = $47.40 value
- - - one ten-day non-expiring ticket with eight days used = $0 value, since the remaining days never expire

 

[Tink888]

OP - I'm sorry that your son was injured and that it put a damper on the last few days of your vacation. I'm glad that he's okay.

If it was me personally that this happened to, I think that I would probably let it go. It sounds like this was just an unfortunate accident, I don't know the facts or why the floor was wet, did a guest spill something, had it been mopped? I also know that with my own kids, at 20 months - they weren't always sturdy on their feet and it didn't always take much for one of them to fall down. Disney took care of the medical expenses which I'm sure added up to several hundred dollars. If I wanted additional compensation for unused tickets or discounts, etc., I would have brought it up with Disney management at the time the accident occurred. Three months after the fact it seems a little late.

Sure you could sue but I'd expect a good fight from Disney and rightly so. With the thousands of people visiting every day, there are justified and unjustifed claims. If Disney didn't aggressively fight each and every one of them and settled just to avoid a trial, none of us could afford to go there becuase the prices would be so high while they tried to recoup their losses.

Since you are a frequent visitor, for all you know there very well could be a little check by your name and the next time you book, an upgrade or something special may already be waiting for you. JMO

 

[portocall]

I don't think that Disney would be willing to offer any additional compensation. I would leave it at the medical bills being taken care of and keep looking for the public/pin discounts for future visits.

 

[Smile4Me]

I'm very sorry that your son was injured while on a family vacation. To be honest, I think that you'd have a better case for asking for compensation seeming for a vacation being disrupted if you hadn't used the rest of the passes ,,,,but then you'd be out that time at Disney if they didn't come through... I'm happy your son is safe and the medical care they sought for him was adequate.