Disneyland Being Sued for not Evacuating a Disabled Guest from IASW

[Iwant2BAprincess]

ok, so was it 40 total minutes or 40 after everyother passenger? If it was total minutes just be glad they got you out of there. We spent that long stuck on POTC trip before last-my kids were in full meltdowns and tears but they didn't evacuate any of us.

 

[wishspirit]

I think Disney should of kept a Cast Member with him- so he knew what was going on, and so he knew he wasn't going to be abandoned. Apart from that there is nothing much more they can do. If Disney had tried to evacuate where is wasn't safe and caused him even more injury, then they really would get themselves in a legal stranglehold.

Hopefully Disney made up for the inconvenience at the time.

 

[SueM in MN]

]It is correct that Autonomic Dysreflexia (AD)can be life threatening - and pretty quickly too, if it’s not treated. I have not heard of it being caused by stress though. It is usually caused by something that would be physically painful for someone without a spinal cord injury. Since the person can’t feel it, the body’s reaction goes overboard trying to ‘fix’ the situation.
http://sci.washington.edu/info/forums/reports/autonomic_dysreflexia.asp[/URL"]Here’s a pretty good article about it.

If he did have AD during the wait, I can see why it would have been very distressing to him - part of the teaching for any patient with a spinal cord injury really emphasizes the fact that AD needs to be handled right away or it can kill you.

It’s hard to comment without knowing Disney’s side of the story too, but it sounds like his boat stopped in a place where it was not physically possible to get him out of the boat. That could have happened even if they had wheelchair accessible ‘rescue’ points every 20 feet. It does sound like he would have benefitted from some extra communication or even a CM staying with him, as wishspirit pointed out. It sounds like his panic level got high and then just kept building; a CM or at least frequent updates may have helped him.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I just read an article in OC Register about the lawsuit. It seems, according to Mr Martinez that he was in distress and told a CM he needed medical attention.

Here is the article in the OC Register....it has a little more information. Paramedics were called, so it might have been more than an inconvienance.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/ride-287668-martinez-lawsuit.html

And this from the article.......... Quote.....======================
While waiting for help, Martinez suffered from dysreflexia, a medical condition that can cause death if untreated, the suit states. For people with spinal-cord injuries, stress can prompt sudden high blood pressure that can lead to stroke or death, according to WebMd.

"It feels like an ice pick going through your temples," Martinez said. The pain was exacerbated "especially when you couple that with the continuous, 'small world' music in the background."

Martinez told employees that he needed to get off the ride immediately, but he wasn't able to leave until the ride started up again and went to the dock exit, he said. A nurse met him there, took him across the park to a first-aid station and called paramedics. The nurse gave Martinez blood-pressure medicine, as well.

Disney sent Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse to perform for Martinez at first aid
=========================================================
Could that last part about Mickey and Minnie even be true?

 

[jcb]

Local CBS news coverage includes video shot by Martinez on the ride.
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011...nd-not-ready-to-help-disabled-in-emergencies/

 

[Justin Jett]

Local CBS news coverage includes video shot by Martinez on the ride.
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011...nd-not-ready-to-help-disabled-in-emergencies/

Ummmmm.....no.....this is, well.....ya know.

These rediculous lawsuits need to stop. He did not take action until he spent a year FINDING A GROUP to "help him".

 

[Justin Jett]

If there was danger, Firefighters/EMTs could carry him off, and put him on a stretcher or courtesy chair until they could get his chair off the boat.

Whats next???? A muster drill on It's A Small World????

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

Gosh, I'd hate to see how much this guy would be suing Universal for if he wanted to go on the Harry Potter ride the first day.

Unfortunately, this person puts the great work that Disney does for everyone, disabled or not, in the background. I'm going to WDW with my mom who is celiac, and have got more information and help from them than I could ever hope for.

 

[DCTooTall]

From reading the first link and the version of the story, I truly wonder what kind of case he has.

1. someone more familiar with the ADA can probably correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that the ADA has provisions to allow structures and attractions predating the ADA some leeway when it comes to it's adherence to the ADA guideline. Small world at Disneyland dates to the '64 World's Fair.... LONG before the ADA. While some modifications have been made to accommodate those with disabilities.... such as the addition of wheelchair boats over the years, the area inside the attraction hasn't gone thru any MAJOR changes that would require conforming to current laws/guideline. I don't think Painting and adding a couple figures (and repairing others) counts as major work.

2. There is a very big difference between an emergency evacuation, and a courtesy evacuation. The article did not mention what kind of evac it was. Disney would have procedures in place to ensure ALL GUESTS were evacuated in the case of an emergency evac. If however this was a case of a courtesy evac.... meaning a technical difficulty preventing smooth running of the ride that may have guests waiting for a prolonged period of time... Those procedures would likely be very different. ESPECIALLY if the guest has a spinal injury, I do not doubt that CM's would determine that the risk of aggravating the guest's injury would outweigh the apparent danger he was in if he waited.



Remember, how many people here had to look up the disorder the guest had, or relied upon the description in the article? How are CM's supposed to know every possible medical condition and all of it's possible complications?

Now.... I won't deny that they may have been able to handle the situation better, but I wouldn't fault a CM for erring on the side of caution when they heard "spinal injury" and not assisting the guest off the attraction manually. We also don't know the reason/cause of the ride stoppage and his boat's location, which could've been something where it was easier/quicker to try and get his boat to a dock then get the resources and find a way to move him off the boat where it was located.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Interesting that HE should mention the Small World background music adding to his pain and suffering-----making it all sound more suspect than I originally thought.

 

[pwdebbie]

Couldn't he have called 911 from the ride? That would have probably gotten assistance to him sooner. Perhaps Disney needs to start having disabled people (and my husband is one, but not wheelchair bound, and I'm not being tongue-in-cheek here) sign waivers. Or signs could be posted at each ride (along with all the rest of the warnings) that a person with special needs can't be guaranteed timely evacuation if necessary and if they would need that then they shouldn't ride.

 

[Justin Jett]

Couldn't he have called 911 from the ride? That would have probably gotten assistance to him sooner.

Exactly!

If there was real danger, or his medical condition was causing problems, CALL AN EMT!

In the video, it looks like the boat is outside. He or his companion could have at least yelled for help. Instead, they just sat there, complaining about the music.

In the video, he looks annoyed, but not TRAUMATIZED. In the video, they were not panicing. They were quieting talking, not yelling for help.

The "advocacy group" put him up to this.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I think it's unlikely that an advocacy group put him up to it. Advised, maybe.

 

[jcb]

From reading the first link and the version of the story, I truly wonder what kind of case he has.

1. someone more familiar with the ADA can probably correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that the ADA has provisions to allow structures and attractions predating the ADA some leeway when it comes to it's adherence to the ADA guideline. Small world at Disneyland dates to the '64 World's Fair.... LONG before the ADA. While some modifications have been made to accommodate those with disabilities.... such as the addition of wheelchair boats over the years, the area inside the attraction hasn't gone thru any MAJOR changes that would require conforming to current laws/guideline. I don't think Painting and adding a couple figures (and repairing others) counts as major work.

2. There is a very big difference between an emergency evacuation, and a courtesy evacuation. The article did not mention what kind of evac it was. Disney would have procedures in place to ensure ALL GUESTS were evacuated in the case of an emergency evac. If however this was a case of a courtesy evac.... meaning a technical difficulty preventing smooth running of the ride that may have guests waiting for a prolonged period of time... Those procedures would likely be very different. ESPECIALLY if the guest has a spinal injury, I do not doubt that CM's would determine that the risk of aggravating the guest's injury would outweigh the apparent danger he was in if he waited.

I don't think the lawsuit alleges Disneyland failed to comply with the design specifications mandated by the ADA and its regulations. Something the lawyer said on the local CBS news spot makes me think they are alleging he was discriminated against by being treated differently than other guests. I'm suspicious because a basic rule in disability law is that the consequences of the disability do not have to be ignored in a situation like this. That may sound harsh, but to use an example from one decision (albeit one that is employment related - but the rules are roughly the same) "If an insulin-dependent diabetic cannot be depended upon to drive a bus safely, he cannot complain about being disqualified from working as a bus driver even though he can show that he would be fully qualified were it not for his being a diabetic." If it wasn't safe to evacuate him because of his disability (or, to be more precise, the consequences of his disability), then that is a legitimate reason for the different treatment. What he is saying, in response, is that this was a life-threatening situation. That raises questions that are not answered by the publicity such as whether he communicated this to the employees and whether Disneyland employees periodically checked on him? (and unfortunately, the court's docket did not let me download the man's complaint so I can't say whether he addressed these issues in his lawsuit). As is true of many lawsuits, at his stage, there are too many unanswered questions. That's the nature of the process.

Couldn't he have called 911 from the ride? That would have probably gotten assistance to him sooner. Perhaps Disney needs to start having disabled people (and my husband is one, but not wheelchair bound, and I'm not being tongue-in-cheek here) sign waivers. Or signs could be posted at each ride (along with all the rest of the warnings) that a person with special needs can't be guaranteed timely evacuation if necessary and if they would need that then they shouldn't ride.

Waivers of the type you describe would probably not be enforceable. Pre-injury waivers are very difficult to enforce even in ordinary situations. Here the ADA regulations would prohibit a waiver outright. Waivers are contracts and the regulations prohibit contractual arrangements to provide different services (and so forth) to individuals with a disability. Similar rules would make the warning signs you mention problematic. (And before you ask the signs about pregnancy are different because pregnancy is not a disability.)

As to signs, the ADA design rules provide for signed "areas of rescue assistance" where individuals with a disability may safely wait for assistance to arrive. That didn't really apply here, however, as it is meant to be used "where people who are unable to use stairs may remain temporarily in safety to await further instructions or assistance during emergency evacuation."

I'm not trying to take sides. I am happy to try to answer questions. Of course, everything I say could be dead wrong.

 

[Justin Jett]

Jack is the man!!!!!

As for me......I AM taking a side.

 

[Disneybridein2k3]

Jack is the man!!!!!

As for me......I AM taking a side.

 

[jcb]

I was able to find the complaint. If you want to review the 32 page complaint, here is a link to it: ADA Disneyland Small World Complaint (this is 1.3 megabyte pdf file so it might take a little bit to download).

I go into skeptical mode in reading complaints like this so take my comments about the allegations with a grain of salt. The complaint answers some questions and raises others. It admits Disneyland employees checked on the couple at least twice. The second time, Martinez told the employee that he needed medical attention due to his spiking blood pressure (which the complaint seems to attribute to the "ride's music blaring in the background.")

What is not clear is why "there was no room for Mrs. Martinez (the wife) to administer first aid." Perhaps someone more familiar with the ride vehicle can address this.

 

[Disney Enabler]

When I choose to go to a public place I am aware of my surrounds and the risks and hardships that I face due to my medical conditions. Lawsuits like the one filed here concern me that entertainment based businesses will have to become so restrictive that I will not be able to use common sense and take a reasonable risk to have an enjoyable time. I have found that Disney has been very accomodating to people like myself.

Carol
It's a great day to be alive!!!

 

[jcb]

Bumping this to note the blog post I wrote on the status of the litigation. It seems Disney does not agree with everything alleged in the complaint.

http://www.disunplugged.com/2012/11/10/disneylands-response-to-the-small-world-ada-lawsuit/

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Wow, this sure changes my view! Very interested in hearing what happens in March! Thx for the blog!