Scooter accident on the monorail due to cast member's mistake

[DisneyFansInLINY]

I just got back from Disney yesterday. Last Tuesday Febuary 1, my husband, 3 year old daughter and I were traveling from the ticket center to the Contemporary hotel on the monorail. I rented a scooter for our trip as I was 30 weeks pregnant and my doctor recommended I do so. We were at Epcot all day and had dinner reservations at Chef de France but I started to feel ill so we decided to go back to the hotel. I was sitting on the scooter, my daughter was in her stroller and my husband was sitting down. There wasn't anyone else in our monorail car. Then we stopped at Magic Kingdom and the doors opened on both sides. The cast member ignored the fact that I was already occupying the car and that my daughter's stroller was also taking up space. He put up the ramp and an elderly woman in a wheelchair was pushed aggressively up the ramp twisting my daughter's foot and knocking her shoe off. She was so scared that she jumped out of the stroller into my husband's lap. The wheelchair was pushed into the back of my scooter so I moved up a little to make room. However, there wasn't any room and since the doors were open, I went flying off the monorail without a ramp and crashed into the gate. My pregnant belly hit the steering wheel of the scooter and I immediately jumped off. Some cast members asked me if I was alright but I mortified and in pain. I went back on the monorail and the cast members pushed my scooter back on. I was crying hysterically and concerned for my baby. Thankfully my daughter's foot was not hurt but she was crying because she was scared. When we arrived back at the hotel, my husband asked to speak to the manager. They said that he was busy but they would send someone to our room and to call the paramedics when we got to our room as I wanted to make sure the baby was alright. A few cast members came to our room about the incident and the paramedic said that my blood pressure was elevated and that I needed to calm down. But I was tramautized, crying and shaking. They wrote a report and asked if I wanted to go to the hospital but I didn't want to go. My husband and I were just so upset that a cast member would take such a safety risk by allowing another wheelchair into a car that did not have the space capacity. The night before we had to wait for another monorail as we were told there wasn't any room and this also happened when we were waiting for a bus. We understood that this is for safety. However, this particular cast member obviously did not take such precautions. We were also very surprised by the fact that no one has followed up with us since the accident. I didn't think that Disney was like this.

 

[DefLepard]

I didn't think that Disney was like this.

One CM makes an insignificant mistake and you think all of Disney is like this ?

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

One CM makes an insignificant mistake and you think all of Disney is like this ?

Insignificant? I'm 31 weeks pregnant! And I wasn't talking about the cast member. I was surprised by the fact that they didn't follow up on the matter. As I heard that Disney takes every incident very seriously but it didn't seem like it to us.

 

[DefLepard]

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[jmartinez1895]

I am happy that no one was hurt. I am sure that Disney is looking in to this. Even if you do not hear anything from them, they are taking care of things on the home front. We had a very minor incident with the buses and it took a few weeks for someone to call us back, but once they did they explained everything that had been done as a result. I assume you will get a call back. If not call and ask that you be contacted again.

 

[peemagg]

We were there that day! We also went on the Monorail from Epcot to the Grand Floridian for dinner and the CM's double loaded myself and another guy on scooters in the same side of a car when the other side was empty. It was very tight for 2 scooters in there. In fact if I had not had a smaller scooter, we would have been even tighter if not fitting at all. I think what was going on that day was that some CM's were being lazy and not wanting to have to move the ramp from one door to another. It is a lot easier to just have only one side that you have to unload, even though both sides are handicapp cars.

I'm glad you and the baby are ok, but I am surprised that Disney hasn't gotten back to you. Maybe you need to call and make a coomplaint to Disney or even write a letter to corporation. I bet you will get a response then.

 

[Oglet]

Fist of all I just want to say that I am very happy that you and baby are both okay and there wasn't anyone seriously hurt in this incident.

I would like to say that there are many reasons CM's load the way they do, loading resorts is a lot harder than express because you never know who is staying on, getting off or what, not making excuses it could just have been a lazy CM i'm just saying that there could be several reasons that might not appear obvious (locked out door panel in the other car for one)

The CM had no way of knowing how the wheelchair would be pushed on to the monorail by the person pushing it.

You mention a good point about the stroller being in the car with you, technically it is a car where wheelchairs etc do take priority and it could have been possible to ask you to either fold the stroller or move it to another car if needed, I'm not attacking you or anything all I am trying to do is look at it from both sides and be somewhat objective.

Honestly, the biggest mistake that you could have made was to not go to the ER when it was offered to you, I understand not wanting to mess up a vacation and spend time at a hospital however from a legal standpoint, it sure wouldn't have hurt to go especially when its your unborn child that is potentially at risk.

I will say that the wheels within Disney tend to turn very slowly when it comes to investigating incidents, the CM's you met were there to make sure you were not in any immediate danger and to make sure that you had all available options explained to you, they were also trying to find out briefly about what happened, don't expect any kind of admission of mistake from them. I am sure the issue will find its way to the appropriate department/person who will contact you about the incident.

I assure you they do look into these things, they will get statements from CM's if needed and they will contact you about it. Just give them some time, there are lots of "incidents" each day at Disney and it no doubt takes them time to get through everything.

 

[cynzilla]

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[toocherie]

I am very surprised that Disney hasn't followed up. Can you imagine the headlines "Pregnant Woman Injured on Monorail."

Thankfully--it appears that you and the baby are ok.

Was the elderly person in the wheelchair being pushed? Did the "pusher" ram them into you and into your daughter's foot? I think at that point I would have indicated to the CM that there really wasn't room and that maybe they should wait. I am not above saying something--weekend before last at Disneyland there was an elderly gentleman on a scooter who ran into somebody (deliberately) at the Haunted Mansion. I yelled at him and then we got up to the handicap area (where his family was "checking out" the procedures and I realized at that point that he had dementia. His family had just gone off and left him driving the scooter through a crowd! I let them know they needed to keep an eye on him better.

Not to blame you, but it does sound like part of the issue (why you went flying off) was because you were not an experienced scooter user. People should remember that you should keep the scooter in "turtle" speed when in small spaces like the Monorail so you have more control.

Finally, everyone should know that when Disney sends personnel to your room and they take a report they are NOT doing it for your benefit. They are getting statements from you and any witnesses to cover themselves when/if a claim is filed. A friend of mine had an issue a couple of years ago in Disneyland and based on the comments made by the park nurse and questions she was asking it was clear to me they were trying to get statements that would benefit them in the future. I don't blame them--most businesses would do the same.

 

[POOHsie]

... He put up the ramp and an elderly woman in a wheelchair was pushed aggressively up the ramp twisting my daughter's foot and knocking her shoe off. ... The wheelchair was pushed into the back of my scooter so I moved up a little to make room. However, there wasn't any room and since the doors were open, I went flying off the monorail without a ramp and crashed into the gate.

I have read your story twice. I am sorry you had a scary accident and I am relieved that it appears you and your baby were not injured. I have my own mobility scooter, for handicap issues. I have been on the Disney Monorail with my scooter a number of times. Since you don't normally use a scooter, perhaps you have not had the experience of being tightly packed into the handicap cars. The floor space is usually always loaded completely since there are so many scooters and wheelchairs waiting. It is tight, but workable. You do not get a complete Monorail car to yourself for one scooter and one stroller. Realistically, the stroller should be folded up in the handicap cars, but your inexperience would not have given you this clue. First thing you do when you get positioned in the Monorail car (or a Disney bus), is to position the power knob on Slow and turn off your scooter's power key. The wheelchair being pushed aggressively up the ramp can be explained. Someone has to use physical force to propel a wheelchair weighing 35 lbs, plus a person weighing maybe 150-200 lbs., up an incline. Maybe the person pushing the wheelchair was elderly him/herself. The pusher might have to use all his/her might to get the momentum required.

You say this wheelchair was touching your scooter, and there was no room to move up, but you tried to move up anyway, and the Monorail doors in front of your scooter were open and you went flying out. These scooters have automatic braking that is always on, except when you are giving your scooter throttle. So the wheelchair touching your scooter would not have moved your scooter. YOU moved your scooter YOURSELF by giving the scooter forward throttle. Perhaps it was your inexperience with your scooter or loading it on the Monorail, or the confusion of the situation, or the fact that you were not feeling well. Maybe you had your scooter throttle set to too-high a speed when you decided to try to move it just a tiny bit. Whatever the reason, why you chose to manually engage your scooter's throttle in front of a vertical drop is the question that most needs to be answered.

I will try make a Disney-related analogy. On Main Street at MK, there are curbs on either side of the main roadway that are at least 6 inches high. A walking person who exits any store along the way, can cross the sidewalk, step off the curb and onto the roadway. Me, in my scooter, can also exit any store, cross the sidewalk and crash my scooter off the curb and onto the roadway and hopefully not injure myself or my scooter. It is ME who is in charge of not dropping my scooter off the curb, not a CM or Disney.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I am sorry for what you went through. I hope everything is okay for both you and the baby. I'm sure it was quite painful and quite a scare. I know I would have been all to pieces with worry.

I hope the rest of your pregnancy is uneventful and everything works out fine.
And I hope Disney contacts you soon.

 

[brat]

Glad your DD is okay.Sending hugs your way, That must have very stressful and frightning for you as well.Very glad to hear both you and baby are well.You may want to write Disney corporation.

Knowing others who have had things happen where they or their kids had issues that could have caused injury I have noticed those who got ER attention got faster attention on follow-up.My gut says it might be they know other people are checking up on you and them.

I wish someone at the monorail station had called the paramedics for you instead of reloading you.It is offend easier to get everything written up right where it happened. You have everyone there that saw what happened.

The CM may have been new to loading scooters and wheelchairs, you are a new scooter user, the older woman either did not notice being pushed into DD or was not vocal about it, and it all added up to what happened.I hope this did not upset your family for the rest of your trip.

 

[robinb]

I just got back from Disney yesterday. Last Tuesday Febuary 1, my husband, 3 year old daughter and I were traveling from the ticket center to the Contemporary hotel on the monorail. I rented a scooter for our trip as I was 30 weeks pregnant and my doctor recommended I do so. We were at Epcot all day and had dinner reservations at Chef de France but I started to feel ill so we decided to go back to the hotel. I was sitting on the scooter, my daughter was in her stroller and my husband was sitting down. There wasn't anyone else in our monorail car. Then we stopped at Magic Kingdom and the doors opened on both sides. The cast member ignored the fact that I was already occupying the car and that my daughter's stroller was also taking up space. He put up the ramp and an elderly woman in a wheelchair was pushed aggressively up the ramp twisting my daughter's foot and knocking her shoe off. She was so scared that she jumped out of the stroller into my husband's lap. The wheelchair was pushed into the back of my scooter so I moved up a little to make room. However, there wasn't any room and since the doors were open, I went flying off the monorail without a ramp and crashed into the gate. My pregnant belly hit the steering wheel of the scooter and I immediately jumped off. Some cast members asked me if I was alright but I mortified and in pain. I went back on the monorail and the cast members pushed my scooter back on. I was crying hysterically and concerned for my baby. Thankfully my daughter's foot was not hurt but she was crying because she was scared. When we arrived back at the hotel, my husband asked to speak to the manager. They said that he was busy but they would send someone to our room and to call the paramedics when we got to our room as I wanted to make sure the baby was alright. A few cast members came to our room about the incident and the paramedic said that my blood pressure was elevated and that I needed to calm down. But I was tramautized, crying and shaking. They wrote a report and asked if I wanted to go to the hospital but I didn't want to go. My husband and I were just so upset that a cast member would take such a safety risk by allowing another wheelchair into a car that did not have the space capacity. The night before we had to wait for another monorail as we were told there wasn't any room and this also happened when we were waiting for a bus. We understood that this is for safety. However, this particular cast member obviously did not take such precautions. We were also very surprised by the fact that no one has followed up with us since the accident. I didn't think that Disney was like this.

Insignificant? I'm 31 weeks pregnant! And I wasn't talking about the cast member. I was surprised by the fact that they didn't follow up on the matter. As I heard that Disney takes every incident very seriously but it didn't seem like it to us.

I'm sorry that you had a problem on the monorail. I recall your previous thread when you said that you were going to WDW and your doctor recommended that you rent a scooter because of pregnancy related issues. I also recall that many posters on that thread recommended that you stay home instead of risking your baby.

 

[DisneyNutMary]

It doesn't surprise me that Disney hasn't followed up. The CMs took statements, and undoubtedly made a report of the incident. What more should be expected of them? Paramedics came, assessed the situation, and I am sure the resort received a copy of their report.

Two years ago, my brother in law tripped and fell on uneven pavement at Old Key West. His leg was cut open, and he was not able to walk right for days. We called Guest Services to file a report, a CM visited the villa to take a statement, and my sister walked them to the area where it occurred. His leg was cleaned up and bandaged. He was told to call Guest Services again if there was anything further to add. End of story.

The CMs involved surely showed concern for the OPs well being, and the well being of the baby. But how many people- especially people who are not directly involved- should apologize, or just touch base? How many calls or letters are deemed appropriate? Unless the OP has some expectation of compensation for an accident that seems to be 50 percent CM error and 50 scooter operator error

I may be coming off as cold, and I don't mean to; I am sorry for what the OP went through, but what more should WDW be expected to do outside of taking a report and arranging for medical treatment?

 

[KPeveler]

I think this thread will not be going anywhere good, and now we are up to a blame game. This looks like a good place for it to stop.