Visitors walk through the Seuss Landing area of the Islands of Adventure theme park at the Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack via AP)
A Brazilian family sued Universal Orlando Friday alleging that the theme park’s negligence caused mother Juliana Asquino to fall from a “kid-friendly” Dr. Suess ride last year and suffer severe physical injuries. The plaintiff said the ride was negligently designed and neither theme park employees nor signs warned her that the ride presented a falling hazard.
The lawsuit — filed by Juliana Asquino, her husband Rafael Asquino, and her daughter Giovana Asquino — says that Juliana was visiting Universal’s Islands of Adventure with her family in June 2022. All three plaintiffs are residents of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and filed their lawsuit against Universal in Florida state court.
The six-page complaint alleges that on June 14, 2022, Juliana fell as she was dismounting from “a beast” on the Caro-Suess-El ride. Juliana claimed that as a result, she suffered physical injuries and asked the court to award a minimum of $50,000 in compensatory damages.
“Caro-Seuss-el” is a Dr. Suess-themed merry-go-round at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando Florida. Per Universal’s website, the attraction has no minimum height requirement, though it requires a supervising companion for those under 48 inches, and is billed as “kid-friendly.” Universal’s online safety guide requires that riders are able to independently “take a step up and onto the carousel platform and climb onboard the Seussian creature, either independently or with assistance from your companion.”
The lawsuit accuses Universal of negligence and claims the Orlando theme park “should have known that a dangerous condition and/or falling hazard existed within the park.” The lawsuit alleged that the family members were all “business invitees” and that as such, the theme park had a heightened duty to protect them from dangerous conditions and falling hazards.
Juliana Asquino said in the complaint that she sustained “severe personal injuries,” which are permanent and will continue to impair her in the future. Further, the complaint said that Giovana Asquino had been in good health prior to her mother’s fall, but suffered “extreme emotional trauma” as a result of witnessing the incident. Per the complaint, Giovana Asquino will continue to require medical care for her injuries.
The complaint alleged that both Rafael Asquino and Giovana Asquino have suffered and will continue to suffer a loss of services as a result of Juliana’s injury.
Under Florida law, “business invitees” — those who are on a landowner’s premises for the purpose of doing business — are owed a duty of reasonable care in maintaining safe premises as well as warnings of hidden dangers known or should be known to the landowner.
Universal Orlando was sued by a Guatemalan family in 2018 for its failure to post warning signs in Spanish after a young father suffered a fatal heart attack while riding “Skull Island: Reign of Kong.”
The parties did not immediately respond to request for comment.
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