Child Severely Injured on Disney Resort Property - what would you do?

[erinch]

Haven’t read through everything!
Beyond the litigation questions, I would send a report to DVC and ask that the points be restored for all the days affected.

 

[soniam]

Sorry this happened. It must have been horribly frightening. When our son was in kindergarten, he was playing around on the bus, not really staying in his seat. The bus made a turn, and he slid into the equipment for the emergency exit on the rear door and hit his head. He was bleeding, and they called an ambulance to the bus. They called us to get him, because he needed stitches. It wasn’t an emergency, so we just took him to an urgent care and got him fixed. The school district seemed very worried that we were going to sue. In this case, it was totally our sons fault, and we felt responsibility to pay.

Having said that. I don’t believe this is your son’s fault at all, or yours. If you have to pay a lot out of pocket, I would consider seeing if Disney would cover the excess. However, I wouldn’t sue. It wasn’t intentional or even obvious neglect on anyone’s part, but you shouldn’t be financially burdened by it either. I hope he heals quickly and that things are resolved in a manner that is satisfactory to you. Good luck

 

[glocon]

It seems like usually in an ED when you fill out the paperwork they ask if your injury was due to an accident and if so where did it happen.
So even if your insurance is billed initially, in the end Disney’s insurance will be the one to pay all the bills.
Hopefully you won’t have any out of pocket expenses.
I feel like Disney will take care of you.

 

[erinch]

30 years ago, we were staying at the GF. My son, now 33, was age 3. We left one of the theme parks and boarded a bus for the resort. Both the back and front doors were open, and we boarded at the back. The bus driver saw us get in the back, and started yelling that boarding was only in the front. But we were already on,and I had turned to help my son up the steps. HE CLOSED THE DOOR. People were screaming that there was a small child still boarding and several of us forced the door open and got my son in. The driver continued to scream and swear over the intercom. I stayed in the back with my hysterical toddler, and my husband charged up to get his name and badge number. Which he shouted over the mic that he wasn’t going to take this sh*t anymore and if we wanted to report him , fine. He would report us.

We did want to report him. Which we did to the desk at the Grand Floridian. Not by our demand, since our DS had calmed down and wasn’t hurt, we ended up with the resort GM, and a director of park operations and transportation.

When we came back from dinner, a giant Mickey was in our room with a card that said, Graham, we are so sorry you were scared. I think they comped us a night, which we hadn’t requested. And the next day when we got in the bus, only the front door opened, and there were signs in EVERY bus that boarding was only in the front, and a brand new announcement every driver read for the rest of the trip.

Since that was 30 years ago, I would bet that they have improved even more in restoring the magic, and would make it right for you in terms of your experience.

 

[Minnesota!]

You definitely did not fail your kid. My medical incident as a kid that involved a hook and a body part was a swing and a broken hook that went through my pinkie finger. My mom's solution, take a box of bandages, go back outside and let me watch my soap operas. Oh and the hook was rusty.

You must be Gen X, too?

 

[kuhltiffany]

I would look after my child. It was an accident that could have happened anywhere

 

[Rogue1677x]

You must be Gen X, too?

That obvious, isn't it...ha, ha.

 

[gmang]

I wouldn't sue them. Unless you feel they were genuinely being negligent. Stuff happens. Even asking for points to be returned would be way over the top for me.

 

[Minnesota!]

That obvious, isn't it...ha, ha.

I recognize the parenting style

I had a stick go through my eyelid - above my eyeball - when I was sledding and the kid in front of me ducked as we went under a pine tree.

I went home with a large hole through my eyelid and...I got a bandaid and a new "Annie" ski hat to pull down over my eyes as they sent me out sledding again.

It's a beautiful scar

 

[weather_lady]

From your description, it sounds like a simple accident: your son slipped, fell into something, and got injured (thankfully, not horribly). However, if you feel strongly that Disney/DVC was at fault in some way (e.g., walkway was exceptionally slippery or wasn't properly maintained, or gate latch position presented an obvious risk of snagging and injuring passerby), my advice would be: keep records of everything related to this incident and your costs (medical, loss of vacation/park time) associated with it. If you find that those costs were basically covered by your insurance or are otherwise negligible, then don't worry about it.

If, however, you feel that you have provable, significant economic damages that make it worthwhile to try and see if Disney/DVC will cover some of them, have your attorney write a reasonable "demand letter" to Disney/DVC, asking for compensation. The worst they can do is say no, and then you'd have to evaluate whether you felt it was worth it to litigate (keeping in mind that in Florida, another party will only be held liable for personal injuries if they're found to be 50% or more at fault -- so if, e.g., a jury found that the injury was 51% or more your son's fault, you'd get nothing).

 

[RedHead0186]

I'm so, so sorry this happened to your son (and to your family, as I'm sure it was stressful for all of you). I am glad to hear his surgery was successful, he seems to be healing well, and was still able to enjoy some of the trip.

I wouldn't sue. This sounds like an accident, truly. A sad one that affected you, yes, but still an accident. There is no way anyone, individual or company, is going to be able to 100% prevent accidents from happening. It sounds like they did 'learn' from what happened and they changed the latch; however, it's entirely possible they had no idea it was a possible injury risk before that.

We live in a very litigious society, where people don't want to accept personal responsibility and instead want to blame someone/something else (and get them to pay for it). Please note I'm talking in general and am in no way indicating that this was your/your son's fault. I'm speaking more about the mentality of your family member, who seems to have seen an opportunity to go after 'deep pockets' regardless of who/what was really at fault.

Again, so sorry this happened and glad to hear your son is doing alright. That truly is the most important thing.

 

[eandt]

My family is currently driving home from spring break at a DVC resort - non WDW property. My child was walking on the pool deck (multiple witnesses) toward the pool slide which has a small gate to shut when closed. The latch is a large hook, and he fell onto it - it is at chest level & he hooked his under arm, & was basically cut open. We were taken to the hospital via ambulance and he had to have emergency surgery.
Honestly this was the most traumatic thing I’ve ever had to go through, he is fine as far as there is no nerve or muscle damage, it was all soft tissue and we were very lucky to have had a plastic surgeon on staff to do the surgery. He was able to do other things there and we tried to create as many other fun memories as possible given this happened on the second day of a 9 day trip.

The staff were very worried and kind of course- they did take an incident report - and then later on we noticed that they also changed the type of latch on the gate from hook to loop.

I’ve got a family member in my ear about litigation - but I don’t know what to do or even if that is something we should do. Should I reach out to Disney? To DVC? Should I expect to hear from them? I don’t know - I tried searching forums here to see if anyone was in a similar situation but couldn’t find anything. What would you do?

Glad your family member is ok…Not a lawyer but …There is no hurry to do anything so I wouldn’t rush. I would find out the statute of limitations on bringing civil cases in the state of occurrence (should you want to) and then keep detailed records on everything including any photos of the ‘hook’/scene you might have taken. (FYI when taking photos of ‘evidence’ in any case ensure you take wide photos showing the scene as well as progressive close ups including some with a ruler or item that can be used to reference size of the offending condition or wounds etc) There may or may not be further issues with the injury as time goes on so I unless you were stressed by the hospital bills I would take my time to make a decision on what course to take legally if any. Be careful taking any offers that might be made as that might preclude any future considerations

 

[Robber Baron]

I might hire an attorney to draft one letter hoping to get some medical expenses covered.

It was an accident and things happen.

I probably wouldn't use the term 'severely injured' when the incident happened on day 2 and you were all able to complete your 9 day vacation.

 

[DisneynBison]

What ever you decide don't settle or sign anything until you know he is 100% healed and recovered. You never know when a something strange comes about, a infection, scar tissue puts pressure on a nerve, etcetera etcetera. The body does some weird things sometimes in the healing process. The only way you know for sure is to wait.

 

[MrsBooch]

I might hire an attorney to draft one letter hoping to get some medical expenses covered.

It was an accident and things happen.

I probably wouldn't use the term 'severely injured' when the incident happened on day 2 and you were all able to complete your 9 day vacation.

So - im not sure why but I feel the need to double down on this - despite the “completion” of the vacation- he was severely injured. I left out details before bc why would I need that but this is kind of implying that I overreacted.

The skin and soft tissue on one arm was ripped open by a 2.5inch hook which he impaled himself on and then slid down, from under his shoulder to before his elbow. By some miracle of angles (and angels?) his axillary artery was missed by “a hair” - plastic surgeon had a specialty in reconstruction which helped him to be able to function more quickly afterward (only internal stitches & external glue and steri strips .
We don’t know if he will be able to competitively swim the same way he was for the last 3 years - but he was able to pin trade, complete hidden Mickey scavenger hunts & make smores (with help) for the last part of our vacation. Does that make it not “severe”?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I had missed that this wasn’t at WDW. Where are we talking about here? Hilton Head? Vero Beach? Aulani? DL?

 

[cedricandsophie]

My husband is an attorney specializing in personal injury. He would probably say to send a polite letter to Disney detailing what occurred, attaching the medical bills and the incident report if you gave it and asking for compensation for your out of pocket costs. You may want a lawyer to do it but then it immediately becomes adversarial. You should get some sort of response and then you can decide if you want to take it further. But it sounds like there was no contributory negligence on their part. It was an unfortunate accident . And Disney will not want to compensate for an accident because it sets a precedent.
As another lawyer has said on this site, law suits are expensive unless you find an attorney willing to front the costs and take his % plus costs on the back end. But Disney has lots of attorneys on their payroll. And admitting negligence is not something they want to do.
Most health ins now asks if the injury was caused by a third party. You can decide to say yes but then they may want to surrogate their out of pocket costs expecting you to get repaid from the third party and asking you to repay them . Most ins co these days are eager to get their money back do it can become a slippery slope.

 

[gmi3804]

So - im not sure why but I feel the need to double down on this - despite the “completion” of the vacation- he was severely injured. I left out details before bc why would I need that but this is kind of implying that I overreacted.

You're under no obligation to provide details. But this is the DISboards. What did you expect from these people?

Hope DS is feeling better and healing.

 

[HopperFan]

My husband is an attorney specializing in personal injury. He would probably say to send a polite letter to Disney detailing what occurred, attaching the medical bills and the incident report if you gave it and asking for compensation for your out of pocket costs. You may want a lawyer to do it but then it immediately becomes adversarial. You should get some sort of response and then you can decide if you want to take it further. But it sounds like there was no contributory negligence on their part. It was an unfortunate accident . And Disney will not want to compensate for an accident because it sets a precedent.
As another lawyer has said on this site, law suits are expensive unless you find an attorney willing to front the costs and take his % plus costs on the back end. But Disney has lots of attorneys on their payroll. And admitting negligence is not something they want to do.
Most health ins now asks if the injury was caused by a third party. You can decide to say yes but then they may want to surrogate their out of pocket costs expecting you to get repaid from the third party and asking you to repay them . Most ins co these days are eager to get their money back do it can become a slippery slope.

You have worded this perfectly and compactly, hitting the high points.

Likely everything at the property is up to code. It doesn't sound like it can be proven Disney caused the fall, this was an unfortunate accident ... technically caused by DS actions. He could have fallen in all kinds of locations that would have resulted in some kind of injury, it doesn't mean there was any negligence on the part of the property owner. It will likely be hard to prove and the last thing I would do is go up against Disney lawyers if it were not a clear cut case of negligence on their part. My hope would be to get my out of pocket covered, and perhaps a bit extra if there is possibility of PT needed.

Of course I would make sure the accident is documented with Disney so there is paperwork trail for my insurance company. Just like a police report for a car accident. My kids have had several accidents with injury that resulted in the insurance company having their 3rd party evaluator sending me the forms to fill out to determine fault. Having the paperwork will aid in this process and help the insurance company go to Disney for reimbursement if they feel merit is there.

I will add I have had a long property battle where lawyers said there wasn't enough of a payout for them to take on % so we would have to pay them hourly, and I did have an incident happen to my child that def could result in a large payout (was even on the news). I've been a witness in a case that lasted years. Sometimes you just have to look at what your immediate needs are and focus on that. Lawsuits, even where clear cut fault, aren't always easy, quick or profitable. Even when I was a witness, the mental drain was incredible and I would never enter in to a lawsuit lightly.

 

[RedHead0186]

So - im not sure why but I feel the need to double down on this - despite the “completion” of the vacation- he was severely injured. I left out details before bc why would I need that but this is kind of implying that I overreacted.

The skin and soft tissue on one arm was ripped open by a 2.5inch hook which he impaled himself on and then slid down, from under his shoulder to before his elbow. By some miracle of angles (and angels?) his axillary artery was missed by “a hair” - plastic surgeon had a specialty in reconstruction which helped him to be able to function more quickly afterward (only internal stitches & external glue and steri strips .
We don’t know if he will be able to competitively swim the same way he was for the last 3 years - but he was able to pin trade, complete hidden Mickey scavenger hunts & make smores (with help) for the last part of our vacation. Does that make it not “severe”?

I think people were more asking from a legal perspective. What was the overall impact the injury had. I don't think anyone is questioning the severity of it or saying you're overreacting. But there is a different level of impact between having surgery and being able to still complete your vacation in some capacity versus being in the hospital for weeks recovering or having to be airlifted home, etc.

You of course only need to provide as much detail as you are comfortable doing. But I think that may be where some people are coming from.