Wife injured while on a WDW motor-coach

[Bearadise]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone else has had this happen to them, or something similar when injured on WDW property. Moderator(s) please feel free to move this thread to the appropriate place, if this is not where it should be posted.

My wife, due to hip problems when we go to places such as WDW required a wheelchair due to the distance and amount of walking/standing required. This time around, on the advice of friends with similar situations, we opted to rent a scooter. Good call on our part, what a difference it made!

While I won't/can't go into full detail, here's the basics:
While off-loading my wife from a WDW owned motor-coach (bus), the driver did not allow for proper clearance of the scooter and a backpack. Even after my yelling to him to not lower the lift as there was not enough clearance, he proceeded to do it anyway, dropping the lift from the upper potion into the lower one. This takes place faster than one thinks.

The result was, as the lift was lowered the stationary section of the motor-coach struck the backpack, forcing the backpack forward. This then dominoed the back of the scooter's chair into my wife causing her pain and making her cry out.

After climbing onto the lift, telling the driver what to do and freeing her, I got my wife off the bus. [PARTS LEFT OUT] I firmly requested he call his supervisor, which he reluctantly did.

Long story short:
1)Transportation supervisor showed.
2) WDW "middle management" showed up.
3) CM with a smart-pad walking around taking notes fast and furiously showed up.
4) WDW Security team members showed up.
5) Fire/Medical team showed up (by my firm request) to do a preliminary check.
--- BUT No police/sheriff ever showed! Is this the norm? No one at WDW call for an officer to come. Had I the number, or known they had not been called, I would have called them.

I asked the fire/medical crew for an incident number, as was told, there was no such thing. "Calls like this don't get an incident number." So here I am, back in my home state about to make a series of calls to track down paperwork and log entries to document this occurrence. I have the contact information for the [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Reedy Creek Improvement District [/FONT]http://www.rcid.org/AboutUS_Department.cfm. I was wondering if anyone on the board has had something similar happen to them and/or if someone has a contact number/information for WDW in order to hopefully speed my quest to get the information from them.

I will give credit where credit is due, my wife was treated nicely and professionally. I just need to tie up some loose ends.

Thanks in advance for any and all help, suggestions and guidance you can give.

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[brat]

bear
Not at Disney but with public transportation and we did not get a incedent number either.We got alot of help from our insurace company with getting all the paperwork squared away.
bearswife
hope you are feeling better

 

[Cheshire Figment]

One minor technical question.

Was the bus actually a Disney Bus (this says "Disney Transport" on it and it a city-type bus), or was it from either Magical Express or Disney Cruise Line (larger buses with luggage compartments underneath)?

 

[Bearadise]

One minor technical question.

Was the bus actually a Disney Bus (this says "Disney Transport" on it and it a city-type bus), or was it from either Magical Express or Disney Cruise Line (larger buses with luggage compartments underneath)?

Good question, thanks for asking.
The bus was a Disney Transport motor-coach. We were staying at The All-Star Movies Resort, we boarded there and rode it all they way to the Magic Kingdom.

Cathy had successfully gotten on and off all the Disney Transport motor-coachs prior to this incident. Funny thing, the only reason I knew the scooter was not properly situated on the lift, was due to the fact that a driver on one of our very first buses taken, pointed out to us how the scooter should be positioned on the lift for the safe and proper operation of the lift.

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[disney david]

Good question, thanks for asking.
The bus was a Disney Transport motor-coach. We were staying at The All-Star Movies Resort, we boarded there and rode it all they way to the Magic Kingdom.

Cathy had successfully gotten on and off all the Disney Transport motor-coachs prior to this incident. Funny thing, the only reason I knew the scooter was not properly situated on the lift, was due to the fact that a driver on one of our very first buses taken, pointed out to us how the scooter should be positioned on the lift for the safe and proper operation of the lift.

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i am not trying to make any excuse for disney but mybe the driver was newer nd didnt know all the tricks just what disney trained them how to load and unload. So i dont think the driver meant to hurt your wife he should of listen and stop to check the lift when you told him something was wrong. Not that this helps now but might in a future trip they are geting rid of all the old buses with lift and replacing them with low floor buses that will have a ramp that comes down for you to enter the bus. they have proberly more then half of their fleet switched over and should have them replaced mybe with in a year.

 

[Bearadise]

i am not trying to make any excuse for disney but mybe the driver was newer nd didnt know all the tricks just what disney trained them how to load and unload. So i dont think the driver meant to hurt your wife he should of listen and stop to check the lift when you told him something was wrong.

I'm sure of, and would certainly hope the driver did not intentionally hurt my wife. But, as you say "mybe the driver was newer nd didnt know all the tricks just what disney trained them how to load and unload." In which case when my wife said to him that she didn't feel she was all the way on the lift and he said she was fine, and then from my position, with a clear and unobstructed view of how the scooter was positioned on the lift, yelled to the driver as he began to lower the lift that she was not far enough forward on the lift, that he needed to stop! It seems we are in agreement, he should have stopped lowering the lift and double checked to make sure there was adequate clearance.

Not that this helps now but might in a future trip they are geting rid of all the old buses with lift and replacing them with low floor buses that will have a ramp that comes down for you to enter the bus. they have proberly more then half of their fleet switched over and should have them replaced mybe with in a year.

Funny you should mention that, the transportation supervisor [who for his "protection" shall remain unnamed in this thread] told my wife Cathy while attending to her, "We've been having problems with those old lifts. That's why we're getting rid of them." The WDW "middle management" guy who was standing just behind the left shoulder of the transportation supervisor was not happy when he said this, and gave the transportation supervisor a 'shut-up' rap on the shoulder, which I fully saw...

I know of the low-floor buses you write of. They are very nice and seem to provide more room for everyone riding. However, this incident so shook-up my wife, she became fearful of the loading equipment. She would get off the scooter, and using her cane would painfully make her way onto the bus and into a seat. I or my daughter would have to load the scooter. When we got to our destination, we would have to reverse the process.

I do want to say this, the WDW Transportation drivers we encountered afterwords, were very patient and understanding as we got Cathy and her scooter on and off the buses. Without going into detail, we gave them the "Readers Digest" version as to why we were doing it as we did, and they all worked with us. KUDOS TO THEM!!

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[disney david]

I'm sure of, and would certainly hope the driver did not intentionally hurt my wife. But, as you say "mybe the driver was newer nd didnt know all the tricks just what disney trained them how to load and unload." In which case when my wife said to him that she didn't feel she was all the way on the lift and he said she was fine, and then from my position, with a clear and unobstructed view of how the scooter was positioned on the lift, yelled to the driver as he began to lower the lift that she was not far enough forward on the lift, that he needed to stop! It seems we are in agreement, he should have stopped lowering the lift and double checked to make sure there was adequate clearance.

Funny you should mention that, the transportation supervisor [who for his "protection" shall remain unnamed in this thread] told my wife Cathy while attending to her, "We've been having problems with those old lifts. That's why we're getting rid of them." The WDW "middle management" guy who was standing just behind the left shoulder of the transportation supervisor was not happy when he said this, and gave the transportation supervisor a 'shut-up' rap on the shoulder, which I fully saw...


It was proberly cut out saying we have problems with these buses it makes us look bad


I know of the low-floor buses you write of. They are very nice and seem to provide more room for everyone riding. However, this incident so shook-up my wife, she became fearful of the loading equipment. She would get off the scooter, and using her cane would painfully make her way onto the bus and into a seat. I or my daughter would have to load the scooter. When we got to our destination, we would have to reverse the process.

I do want to say this, the WDW Transportation drivers we encountered afterwords, were very patient and understanding as we got Cathy and her scooter on and off the buses. Without going into detail, we gave them the "Readers Digest" version as to why we were doing it as we did, and they all worked with us. KUDOS TO THEM!!

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yes once your wife said something he should of stop and checked it mybe it was okay and which it wasnt okay but it would of taking an extra few seconds to make sure the chair was okay and to make sure your wife would not get hurt. That also a big problem with that bus he dosnet have a good veiw of the lift ground and chair from wheir he stands. And since you was yelling he should of completely stop movement to make sure it okay.
I hope she okay now and will give them another try the next time you are their mybe they will have more of the newer buses so you wont have to deal with the lift.

 

[pluto2417]

I'm glad your wife was not seriously hurt. Never had that happen. Went twice where we had to use a wheelchair and transportation, lately we've been driving down.

 

[Bearadise]

The WDW "middle management" guy who was standing just behind the left shoulder of the transportation supervisor was not happy when he said this, and gave the transportation supervisor a 'shut-up' rap on the shoulder, which I fully saw...

It was proberly cut out saying we have problems with these buses it makes us look bad

Oh, I knew very well what that love-tap was all about. That and the several others that followed before it was "suggested" to the transportation supervisor that perhaps it would be best if he went to check on the condition of the bus and supervise it being taken out of service for a complete maintenance check-up.

yes once your wife said something he should of stop and checked it mybe it was okay and which it wasnt okay but it would of taking an extra few seconds to make sure the chair was okay and to make sure your wife would not get hurt.

That would have been the sensible and prudent thing to do.

that also a big problem with that bus he dosnet have a good veiw of the lift ground and chair from wheir he stands. And since you was yelling he should of completely stop movement to make sure it okay.

That's the point that sticks with me. Cathy said to him she didn't feel like she was in properly, and without moving in inch, tells her she's fine and begins to lower the lift. I'm telling the driver she's not forward enough and he begins to lower it. I begin to yell at the guy she's not forward enough...and then my wife begins to scream out in pain as the lift is descending.

I hope she okay now and will give them another try the next time you are their mybe they will have more of the newer buses so you wont have to deal with the lift.

I'm thankful that this driver did not do more damage than he did. She's feeling better now, but the balance of our wedding anniversary at WDW was washed out, as she was unable to fully participate in most of activities we had planned to enjoy while there. With her hips, she was able to ride the rides with her back taken out...nada! Before she had decent mobility to get in and out of the restaurant seats/booths, afterwords it really "ate" into our time in the parks when it came time for lunch and supper.

As for going back to WDW? No question about it, we love the place and are already making plans for our next visit. Grandson #3 will be big enough to do things he couldn't do this trip, and Grandson #4 will be old enough to truly enjoy all the sights and sounds for the first time.

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[disney david]

I am glad she is doing better and hope you and your family have a great time on your next trip.

 

[Bearadise]

I'm glad your wife was not seriously hurt. Never had that happen. Went twice where we had to use a wheelchair and transportation, lately we've been driving down.

Thanks for your kind words and I hope you ~never~ have it happen to you or your spouse. My wife uses a wheelchair when we go to WDW due to the size of the place and the amount of walking required. I myself don't mind and in fact, enjoy strolling around the place.

As for driving down, 24 hours if we drive straight through, or even broken up if we stayed over a night on the way down, would be too much for her. From Massachusetts (leaving out of Bradley Field in CT.) to Orlando from wheels-up to touch-down is only about three hours. Then a small break in the airport till we board the Magical Express for the short ride to the resort is well within her tolerance range (with a few Advil).

I do however have a friend, who has relatives in the Orlando area she -hates- to fly, and drives down and back and thinks nothing of it. She's done it so many times, she knows the quickest routes, the best places to eat and cleanest places to stay over for the night.

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[Bearadise]

bear
Not at Disney but with public transportation and we did not get a incedent number either.We got alot of help from our insurace company with getting all the paperwork squared away.
bearswife
hope you are feeling better

Sorry to hear you had an incident while visiting the House of the Mouse, hopefully it was not too serious. Thankfully in our case it's not so much a follow-up for insurance reasons, it's for medical and health tracking reasons.

While Cathy is feeling better, she's still not back to 100% of where she was. It's our hope that whomever was injured in your party, is feeling better as well.

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[Bearadise]

I am glad she is doing better and hope you and your family have a great time on your next trip.

Thanks for the kind words. As said before, while she's not back 100 percent, she's doing much better. I'm confident as well, that our next time at WDW will be a great time!

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[seashoreCM]

If she's not back to 100% by now then the incident was non-trivial.

The bus driver's inexperience is not that much of an issue unless that was the reason he did not stop the lift on your command.

I would say that some compensation is due for the inconvenience. Perhaps beaucoup de (mucho) fastpasses and maybe even a complimentary room night on your next trip.

Oh yes, take off the back pack and put it down at floor level next time (It's not a good idea for anyone to wear a back pack on the bus).

 

[brat]

bear

DS is fine now he was 7 at the time(two years ago).More damage was done to his power chair than to him even though he and his chair fell off the lift.I was stuck on the bus and DH had ridden down the lift before him and saw him falling off.

It was a malfuction of the lift and human error.Driver activated the lift before DS called out he was ready(DS got his first power chair at 3 so he had been using lifts a while) and the stop on the lift failed(which is a issue with the older style lift).

 

[SueM in MN]

I cant make a ling response - typing on my iPod while at a conference.

Anyway - to answer the question regarding whether police should have been called - the answer is no. They would be called for something that was a traffic accident or a possible law being broken. They would not be called in any kind of incident that was a 'plain' accident.

I do not like the buses with lifts, but as was mentioned already, they ate the oldest equipment and are being phased out. They are not very long and a wheelchair or scooter can sometimes be a tight fit, even without a backpack. I know from talking to bus drivers that it is hard for the driver to see exactly where the wheelchair or ECV is positioned, especially if there is a backpack. The drivers do rely a lot on the passenger knowing how far to pull out (although many guests dont know that and are not sure where to be).
I advise removing backpacks while using the lifts - from personal experience - on one trip down the lift standing next to my DD, I was trying to make sure her backpack did not hit. In trying to do that, my foot got too close to the lifting part, the heel of my shoe got caught I yelled and the driver stopped the lift quickly, but I ended up with the skin on my heel scraped off. The driver and supervisor were very nice about the incident and obviously felt horrible. I have a lot more respect for those lifts and am very careful on them. I also tell the driver proactively not to move the lift until I say I am ready. Most are very nice about it, but, as brat mentioned, we have had a few who were very quick to start the lift before we were ready.

I will be very glad when they replace those buses

As I look at this, it turned out to be a long reply written on the iPod - please pardon any mistakes because it's hard to see what I am writing because I can only see a few lines at a time.

 

[dclfun]

Several years ago I had an incident with a lift bus when staying at AK Lodge. The driver had lowered the lift and I didn't notice that it wasn't firmly on the sidewalk- about 1/2 inch wasn't. When he raised the lift with me on it it ended up sending me UNDER the bus and I cracked a knee-cap. I was stuck with my knees jammed for quite some time with guests on the bus complaining that they were going to miss their ADR's. The driver left the bus running, so I also had to breathe those fumes. Yeah...not a "magical moment".---Kathy

 

[Bearadise]

If she's not back to 100% by now then the incident was non-trivial.

Thanks for the reply, while we're not taking what happened as trivial and not viewing it as an end-of-the-world event, we are taking it seriously.

The bus driver's inexperience is not that much of an issue unless that was the reason he did not stop the lift on your command.

I don't know what the driver's level of training was, nor his experience level. But no matter what it is/was, I fail to understand what his reasoning was for even starting to lower the lift when my wife and I raised our concerns that the scooter was not fully situated on the lift, BEFORE he began the lifts descent. The driver -never- left his position at the controls to fully look at how the scooter was positioned on the lift.

I would say that some compensation is due for the inconvenience. Perhaps beaucoup de (mucho) fastpasses and maybe even a complimentary room night on your next trip.

We were given a fastpass which was good for one ride, to be used that night. By the time we were able to enter the park and meet up with the rest of the family, the MK was closing down for the night. So that pass, a nice gesture I grant you, was not good for much. They gave us a second one-time fastpass for another day good only in the MK, but we were unable to make use of it. But in fairness, that was on us, as we were in another park that day.

As for a "complimentary room night on your next trip", I'm not going to go there, as while we do plan to visit WDW again, it won't be till the Grandkids get a bit older.

Oh yes, take off the back pack and put it down at floor level next time (It's not a good idea for anyone to wear a back pack on the bus).

While a agree with you when you write "It's not a good idea for anyone to wear a back pack on the bus", my wife was not wearing the backpack, it was attached to the back of the scooter's chair. Even then, it was within the parameters set for scooter sizes boarding WDW buses. No WDW motor-coach operator before or after then incident, ever challenged the backpack being where it was, or directed or requested it be removed from it's location on the scooter. To add to it, as my wife's scooter was facing out, the backpack was right next to the driver's left leg as he stood at the lift controls. When brought to his attention, simply by looking down he should have recognized that the attached backpack would not clear when the lift was lowered.

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[Bearadise]

bear

DS is fine now he was 7 at the time(two years ago).More damage was done to his power chair than to him even though he and his chair fell off the lift.I was stuck on the bus and DH had ridden down the lift before him and saw him falling off.

Brat,

Glad to hear he's fine. It must have been horrific for you (and your DH) to have watched that happen to your DS and not be able to get off the bus.

It was a malfuction of the lift and human error.Driver activated the lift before DS called out he was ready(DS got his first power chair at 3 so he had been using lifts a while) and the stop on the lift failed(which is a issue with the older style lift).

A unfortunate combination to have when your DS simply wanted to get off the bus. But, thankfully as you wrote, the chair took the brunt of it. Good to hear that he's fine, and hopefully that your blood pressure is back to normal...

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[Bearadise]

I cant make a ling response - typing on my iPod while at a conference.

Anyway - to answer the question regarding whether police should have been called - the answer is no. They would be called for something that was a traffic accident or a possible law being broken. They would not be called in any kind of incident that was a 'plain' accident.

SueM,

Nice to hear from you. Hmmmm, not calling the police for an incident involving injury on a public transportation vehicle? Must be a jurisdictional thing. (Rich stops to put on protective clothing, then begins to type again.) Up here in Massachusetts (Southern crowd yells "We don't care how you do it up north!!"), when a person is injured on a public transportation vehicle, law enforcement, be they state, local, sheriff or registry are called to the scene to investigate, and at the very least to file a report on what happened.

I do not like the buses with lifts, but as was mentioned already, they ate the oldest equipment and are being phased out. They are not very long and a wheelchair or scooter can sometimes be a tight fit, even without a backpack. I know from talking to bus drivers that it is hard for the driver to see exactly where the wheelchair or ECV is positioned, especially if there is a backpack. The drivers do rely a lot on the passenger knowing how far to pull out (although many guests dont know that and are not sure where to be).

I agree with what you said. Especially the part where you say "I know from talking to bus drivers that it is hard for the driver to see exactly where the wheelchair or ECV is positioned, especially if there is a backpack. The drivers do rely a lot on the passenger knowing how far to pull out". That's one more reason why I can't fathom why this particular driver choose to ignore both my wife's and my repeated verbal attempts to prevent him from operating the lift when we told him the scooter was not properly positioned on the lift.

I advise removing backpacks while using the lifts - from personal experience - on one trip down the lift standing next to my DD, I was trying to make sure her backpack did not hit. In trying to do that, my foot got too close to the lifting part, the heel of my shoe got caught I yelled and the driver stopped the lift quickly, but I ended up with the skin on my heel scraped off. The driver and supervisor were very nice about the incident and obviously felt horrible. I have a lot more respect for those lifts and am very careful on them. I also tell the driver proactively not to move the lift until I say I am ready. Most are very nice about it, but, as brat mentioned, we have had a few who were very quick to start the lift before we were ready.

Sounds like you had a driver who was on the ball and stopped right away. Even with my wife screaming out in pain, our driver did not stop the lift until it was on the ground! I first thought her hair was somehow caught in the works. Even with the lift in motion, I jumped from the ground up onto the lift and gathered her hair in my hands, pulling it to the front of her. It was at that point she was in tears sobbing that it was her back, that something had struck her in her back like a punch.

While I'm sorry to read that the skin on your heel was scrapped off. Sounds like the driver checked it out, your DD was safely in place and the lift in motion when you moved. In our case, the driver never should have even started the lift in motion, and when my wife began to scream, he should have stopped it!

I won't comment on the drivers attitude, and actions that immediately followed, let's just say it was poor, so much so that soon after the transportation supervisor arrived, he directed the driver to stop talking at my wife and to leave the area.

My wife became so fearful of the lifts, and even the low-boy drive-ons, as said in another post. She would get off the scooter, and using her cane would painfully make her way onto the bus and into a seat. I or my daughter would have to load the scooter. When we got to our destination, we would have to reverse the process.

I guess we got one of those "very quick to start the lift" drivers that trip. Though I will publicly say this; With the exception of this one incident/driver, to a person, we were treated with respect, courtesy and patience by every driver we had the pleasure of being passengers of on their buses.

I will be very glad when they replace those buses[/QUOTE]

Amen sister, Amen!

As I look at this, it turned out to be a long reply written on the iPod - please pardon any mistakes because it's hard to see what I am writing because I can only see a few lines at a time.

Actually, the message was kind of fun to read as the auto-correct on your iPod kept changing your words.

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