Civil Suit Against Disney!!!

[WHIT1]

Please say its not so. I heard on the radio this am that there is a civil suit against Disney because of the death of the four year old last year. It was said Disney should not have allowed a four year old on mission to space.Any input on this disers?

 

[laceemouse]

Haven't heard about it (do you have a link?) but I have to say I am not surprised in the least. This would not be the first time Disney has been sued, and it wouldn't be the last! Some woman sued and won after being injured on the Indiana Jones ride at DL. I'm sure there are others, but that one was pretty famous.

 

[Chuck S]

Since Disney, nor anyone else (including the parents), had any knowledge of the 4 year olds heart defect, I don't think the suit will get too far. Many 4 year olds ride MS without any problems. They enforce a height/safety restriction for the ride, and there were LOTS of warning signs prior to boarding.

 

[cleo]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...6jun14,0,208418.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

Although Disney will probably 'settle', I hope they fight this one. As much as my heart goes out to this family at their devestating loss, Disney is not (in my opinion) at fault.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

It was a horrible, unfortunate incident to be sure. Was it Disney's FAULT? Absolutely not. I think they might settle out of court just to get these people to go away, but then again, Disney wasn't liable so maybe they will fight it.

 

[MelanieC]

I heard it on the local news this morning. We live a few towns down from where this family lived.

 

[Belle's Mom Tink]

I heard this as well this morning. I live in PA so it was in our local paper today. What I was interested in was that the article said that "In May, Disney revised the ride to also offer a "lite" version that does not include centrifugal force." I was just there in May and was not aware of this "lite" version. I went on the ride in 2004 and just plain did not like it, I refused to go on this time. I would consider going on this lite version if they still have it on my next visit, has anyone done this yet?

 

[julia & nicks mom]

They revised it in the middle of May -

I was there May 18-21 and everywhere there was a times guide -they had one that looked just like it except it had Mission Space ride logo on the top and explained the changes to the ride

I believe it is a permanent change to the ride

 

[momandseandodisney]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...6jun14,0,208418.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

Although Disney will probably 'settle', I hope they fight this one. As much as my heart goes out to this family at their devestating loss, Disney is not (in my opinion) at fault.

I TOTALLY AGREE

 

[MyGoofy26]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...6jun14,0,208418.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

Although Disney will probably 'settle', I hope they fight this one. As much as my heart goes out to this family at their devestating loss, Disney is not (in my opinion) at fault.

I think it'd be worse for Disney to settle . . . just look at how many people on here want that ride shut down because of these accidents Disney had nothing to do with (aside from being the unfortunate scene) I think for a lot of people that are anti-MS and looking to get it closed, they'll see Disney settling as an admission of guilt when it reality it's just cheaper to settle than to fight.

 

[phisigprincess]

There is a big discussion about this over on the Community Board as well.

 

[mybgirl]

It was a horrible, unfortunate incident to be sure. Was it Disney's FAULT? Absolutely not. I think they might settle out of court just to get these people to go away, but then again, Disney wasn't liable so maybe they will fight it.

YES this is very horrible , but not DISNEY fault,

 

[bigtinkfun]

I've always heard that Disney has a policy of fighting lawsuits that they consider unwarranted. They have to, because as a company with deep pockets, they're seen as a target for anyone looking to get rich quick.

My heart goes out to the family of that little boy, but I hope Disney fights this one tooth and nail.

 

[cleo]

If Disney settles it is less likely to be splashed all over the news than if they fight. They get this sort of thing every single day of the week (though this one and others like it are much more 'public') and it is often much better for them in terms of business (finances) if they settle than it is to fight, regardless of their not actually being at fault. People know this (attorneys in particular know this) and that's why they sue, even though they know it is not Disney's fault. Somehow the lure of cash makes people think they're due something and their loss doubles the appeal of 'getting something in return'.

I don't think it has anything to do with guilt; I think it has everything to do with grief and a desire to be 'paid back' for a terrible loss.

 

[WHIT1]

I've always heard that Disney has a policy of fighting lawsuits that they consider unwarranted. They have to, because as a company with deep pockets, they're seen as a target for anyone looking to get rich quick.

My heart goes out to the family of that little boy, but I hope Disney fights this one tooth and nail.

I agree with you whole heartly. I also feel for the parents of the child but if you are coming to Disney you need to read up on all the rides before taking small children and even adults on them. If you are from a foreign country and don't understand something ask the cm's at disney and if you still don't understand then use your gut feeling and don't ride the ride.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Unfortunately it is not cost-effective to fight any lawsuit in this day and age. I feel they will settle out of court because it would avoid a trial that would most certainly create bad publicity for Disney. Plus there's always the chance that a very sympathetic jury would find them at fault in some way (even though it may not be right) and a settlement of a couple hundred thousand would turn into millions in the blink of an eye. What's really sad is that the family involved probably never intended to sue but may have been hounded by several legal firms continuously since the incident occurred.

 

[MJMcBride]

YES this is very horrible , but not DISNEY fault,

What do you base this opinion on exactly? I'm not sure how we can determine whose fault if anyone's it is at this point.

 

[rejobako]

Whereas I generally agree with the comments, I would add one thing. Most everyone seems to be assuming that because Disney provided warnings, this necessarily absolves them from liability. My guess is that there was nothing inherently or unreasonably dangerous about the ride itself, but I am not qualified to make that assessment. There's a possibility that this family or their lawyer has done some pre-suit investigation to determine whether the G-forces or other physical strains on the ride pose an unreasonable risk to riders, even healthy ones. If that is a legitimate issue in this case, then I would not automatically presume that Disney should bear no responsibility here.

In the meantime, I think I read somewhere that if a claim like this is made and the defendant takes steps to reduce the alleged risk in the meantime (like changing the configuration of the ride), that fact isn't admissible in the case. The reasoning is that we don't want companies to not take action that might be in the public interest just because they're afraid to look guilty for the previous condition.

 

[julia & nicks mom]

He had an undetected heart condition that caused his death.

I really feel for his parents and can't imagine what they went through - but Disney can not be held responsible for the effects the ride had on an undetected heart condition -

 

[Fionasmommy]

We tried to ride the less intense version of Mission:Space during the first week of June. DD had just turned 5, but she didn't meet the height requirement so we were turned back. I hadn't even thought about height requirements - it was our first "big" ride at Disney, Epcot was about to close, etc. I didn't even know they had a height requirement! LOL! But I felt very lucky that the CM caught it. She'll be growing soon enough, and we can always try it later.

But, getting back to the OP, didn't they say back at the time that the boy met the height requirements for the ride?

More likely, I think, is that the family feels the recent addition of a less intense version of the ride is an admission on Disney's part that the regular version is not appropriate for all ages. Who knows if that's true or not, but I could see where they might want to interpret it that way.