Downhill Double Dipper at Disney World in Florida (Disney).
A Florida man is suing Disney World after he allegedly suffered “catastrophic” injuries while riding down a waterslide.
Eugene Strickland filed the lawsuit Thursday in the Sunshine State’s Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in Orange County, which includes Disney. Strickland is requesting more than $50,000 and is accusing the theme park of negligence.
According to the lawsuit, Strickland was visiting the Blizzard Beach water park on July 31, 2021, when he chose to ride the Downhill Double Dipper waterslide. Strickland weighed 334 pounds at the time. Plaintiff lawyers note the American Society for Testing and Materials recommends no one over 300 pounds participate in single-rider waterslides. Its unclear what the specifications are for the Dipper slide.
Strickland used an inner tube to go down the slide and “became momentarily airborne as a result of the ride’s ‘exhilarating speeds’ and design, resulting on Disney’s inner tube becoming forcibly, suddenly, and unexpectedly dislodged from underneath Plaintiff s body, causing the Plaintiff to land with force onto the hard plastic surface of the slide, sustaining permanent catastrophic injuries as a result.”
According to the suit filed on behalf of Strickland by Morgan & Morgan, the inner tube he used was defective. The theme park used “deficient/inadequate/ineffective/underinflated inner tubes to be utilized on the premises knowing that they could forcefully dislodged from under the patrons relying on them,” plaintiff lawyers wrote.
The lawsuit claims Disney knew of the “dangerous condition” of the ride which was a “safety hazard.” As a result, Strickland suffered “scarring [and] disfigurement,” the lawsuit said.
“These injuries are permanent and continuing within a degree of medical probability, and Plaintiff will suffer these losses in the future,” Strickland’s lawyers wrote.
Disney did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
