Gator Bait

[raidermatt]

Here's a good one. (the article is almost a month old, but I don't remember seeing it posted here...my apologies if it has been).

Gator Bait



Tuesday, July 01, 2003

Hudson teacher’s widow sues Disney

By ANDREW WOLFE, Telegraph Staff
wolfea@telegraph-nh.com

CONCORD – The widow of a Hudson teacher who drowned after falling off a pier at Walt Disney World has sued the company, charging it failed to take steps that would have prevented the accident.

Sean Slattery, 36, of Merrimack, was found April 25, 2002, near the end of a pier on the Grand Lagoon outside Disney’s Grand Floridian Hotel.

Slattery taught social studies at Alvirne High School for six years. He was a Nashua native and third-generation teacher, having followed his mother and grandmother into the profession. He left four children.

Megan Slattery sued on behalf of her husband’s estate June 19. Disney has yet to be served with notice of the suit, her lawyer, Joseph McDowell of Manchester, said Monday.

The suit seeks $10 million to compensate for Slattery’s lost wages and the suffering his death caused him, his wife and their children. McDowell declined to comment on the case, saying, “I’ll just let the lawsuit speak for itself.”

Staff at Disney World’s public relations office did not respond to a request for comment on the case.

The Slattery family went to Disney World during the April vacation week, and on the night of April 24, Sean and Megan Slattery arranged for a babysitter and went out to dinner together.

Sean Slattery got drunk during dinner, and the two argued, the suit states. He walked out, and after waiting awhile, his wife went back to their room. She later called the hotel manager several times when her husband didn’t show up.

A Disney security officer spotted Sean Slattery in the hotel and noticed he seemed drunk and disoriented, the suit states. Slattery told the officer he was looking for his wife.

The officer asked Slattery to sit down, saying he would get help and come back. The officer left to find the manager, but Slattery was gone when he returned, the suit states. The officer continued on his rounds, doing nothing further about Slattery, the suit states.

Slattery had gone to relieve himself, the suit states. He walked out to the end of the pier, which, unlike the sides, had no guardrail.

“Unsteady by the alcohol served by Disney restaurant wait staff, Mr. Slattery fell fully clothed in suit and tie into the Grand Lagoon and drowned,” the suit states.

The suit charges that the pier was inherently dangerous, lacking a guardrail at the end, as well as lighting, warning signs or anything to prevent people from walking onto it. The pier also lacked a ladder or another way for a person to climb out of the water, the suit charges.

The suit charges the pier “constituted a trap for patrons who had been over-served alcohol by Disney’s wait staff.”

The suit also charges the security guard should have stayed with Slattery and used his radio to get help, and that Disney fails to properly train its staff.

 

[MelissathePooh]

I guess the open beaches don't constitute a hazard?

I though all the docks had at least a rope of some sort to block them off. Its amazing that Disney could be considered responsible for another persons stupidity and poor judgment.

I have to admit from the title of your post I thought this was some joke about Florida Gator fans! Anyone ever see the movie "Big Trouble"??? Boy that made me laugh!

 

[KNWVIKING]

It's amazing anyone would ever want to go into business now days. No matter how you try,you will never make something idiot proof. Somebody else always has to be responible for our misfortune.

 

[Cricket2]

So the sign should state what?

"Absolutely no drunken urination off this un-lit pier"

-or-

"Please refrain from stupidity on dock"

-or-

"Your wife is not here, check the other deadly docks on premises please"


JC

 

[KNWVIKING]

Maybe Disney should ask if DW helped her DH find the end of the pier ?!?!?

 

[Cricket2]

I like the guy's Darwin comment on the second page.

JC

 

[DanceBabe16]

Originally posted by raidermatt
The suit charges the pier “constituted a trap for patrons who had been over-served alcohol by Disney’s wait staff.”

The suit also charges the security guard should have stayed with Slattery and used his radio to get help, and that Disney fails to properly train its staff.

Agh! Lawsuits like this drive me absolutely crazy. Yes, it's very unfortunate that this man died, but it is not Disney's fault. People amaze me sometimes....

 

[Yup I'm Goofy]

Anyone can sue anyone for anything! In some ways that is a good thing but in cases like this it is rediculus. This is like the McDonalds suit. Of course it is someone elses fault if I eat too much, or get drunk and take a long walk on a short dock.

Let's just hope this gets thrown out and Disney does not settle to make it go away.

This is a very sad story and I feel bad for the family, but lawsuits don't fix accidents, or stupidity.

Could Disney sue the estate for couseing harm to their reputation? That sound rediculus but why not??

 

[Banzai]

Grand Lagoon eh? Disney should say that they dont have a grand lagoon!

 

[Wendy]

Unbelievable! I can't even imagine having the gall to blame someone else for my drunken husband peeing of their dock and falling into the lagoon. I'm sure they held him down and forced the liquor into him, then the security guard told him the bathroom was at the end of the dock, and a boat captain snuck up behind him and pushed him off, right?

 

[crusader]

Knowing how the litigation game is played I'm not surprised at the allegations being put forth here. I'm sure the plaintiffs are looking for a quick out of court settlement to help compensate the loss.

I feel very sorry for this family. What a horrible tragedy.

What puzzled me was: How the heck do they know he went out on the pier to relieve himself if nobody saw him fall in?

 

[Cricket2]

Originally posted by crusader
What puzzled me was: How the heck do they know he went out on the pier to relieve himself if nobody saw him fall in?

I was assuming he didn't zip up while drowning.

God let's hope he was just urinating.

JC

 

[kidzmom3]

I really cannot comment on what a jury or judge would do in this case, but is it too much to ask to have a ladder at the end of a pier. We have one at our dock in NH for just the case of someone falling in. And if that person was drunk or sober, adult or child, without some way to climb back up, you could easily drown. What if a child fell off that pier. Just something to think about.

 

[Walt's Frozen Head]

I was assuming he didn't zip up while drowning.

From what I understand, it's nign-on to common to discover male drowning victims with open flies, empty bladders, and high alcohol content in their bloodstreams.

Maybe the womenfolk have something in that whole "take a buddy to the bathroom" thing.

Perhaps friends shouldn't let friends whiz drunk, either.

 

[crusader]

Thanks for that imagery!

Women take a buddy because they don't have to stand and observe one another relieving themselves in whatever manner that implies.

 

[raidermatt]

There's also the danger of attracting the attention of certain reptiles by waving your willy around them in the dark.

From what I understand, it's nign-on to common to discover male drowning victims with open flies, empty bladders, and high alcohol content in their bloodstreams.

Perhaps ladders should be installed inside toilets as well...

 

[kidzmom3]

perhaps when one of you dies, the rest of us can make fun of you!

 

[raidermatt]

For the record, I was making fun of the situation in general...

However, should I ever go to WDW with my family, leave my kids with a babysitter, drink myself into a drunken stupor, storm out of a restaurant leaving my wife behind, ignore the instructions of a security guard, stumble outside and fall into a lagoon because I was attempting to publically urinate into it, and THEN you guys found out my wife was sueing Disney for it, I would expect a little "merry-making" at my expense.

 

[JimB.]

I thought this was some joke about Florida Gator fans!

Hey, Hey, HEY!!!!!

Being a Gator is an incredible burden to bear without youse guys making a joke about it! It's serious. REALLY!!

Now, back to the OP.

Once again, everyone is a victim. Everything bad that happens is everyone else's fault! If this gentleman gets intoxicated, fails to follow directions, fails to see where he is walking & takes a header into the water, it's Disney's fault??

The waiter served him to much alcohol? Ha. What A Crock. 1st - the guy may have appeared at dinner to be perfectly sober. 2nd - The pair was apparently argumentative, so IMAGINE the stink that may have ensued if a waiter had done so. Then they would be pissing & moaning about the shabby service.

One thing I like about Dsiney is that they are VERY aggressive about defending themselves in court. I'm not saying that they are never without fault, because there HAVE been some (but very few) hefty judgements of this kind against them in the past. But at least they make a plaintiff PROVE the case & don't settle out of court just to make them go away.

 

[JDH]

you should take responsibility for your actions and that this lawsuit is patently wrong.

However when I was at the Grand Floridian two weeks ago I decided to look at the dock. While there is a rope barrier around nearly the entire dock that consists of four ropes, basically a fence, the "gate" the the water taxi's use is a single 1" thick line. There are two of these on each end of the dock. The height or substance of the rope is not significant enough to prevent someone who is drunk or just wants to from staggering up to the rope, doing a flip over it, unhooking it, ducking under, or crawling under it and winding up right at the waters edge.

Just seeing cases like the Macdonald's hot coffee incident I can see his wife making some money off of WDC. I bet they settle out of court. It's a shame that this guy, who was an accident waiting for a place to happen, found it at the World.