A lawsuit has been filed against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts following an incident at the Typhoon Lagoon water park in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The suit, filed last week in the Circuit Court for Orange County, Florida, alleges that a woman suffered an “injurious wedgie” while riding the Humunga Kowabunga water slide.
The plaintiffs, Emma and Edward McGuinness, were on a two-week family vacation at Walt Disney World in October 2019 to celebrate Emma’s 30th birthday. As part of their visit, they rode the Humunga Kowabunga water slide, which descends 214 feet and plunges riders into a pool of water.
According to court documents, the suit alleges that Disney “was negligent and breached its duties of reasonable care” in several ways. First, the plaintiffs claim that Disney failed to provide any protective clothing, such as shorts, for the slide. They also allege that Disney did not warn riders, particularly women, about the risk of “wedgies” as a result of the slide’s forceful impact.
The suit also claims that Disney had design and safety failures that contributed to the incident. The plaintiffs state that Emma McGuinness followed the ride’s instructions to cross her ankles, but she became airborne and slammed into the slide at the end, which caused her legs to uncross and her swimsuit to forcefully enter her body.
As a result, Emma McGuinness suffered severe internal injuries and had to be taken by ambulance to a local hospital. She was later transferred to another hospital to see a specialist for gynecologic injuries. The suit states that she has suffered “severe and permanent bodily injury,” as well as mental anguish and lost earnings.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages exceeding $50,000, exclusive of interest and costs, for the count of negligence. They are also seeking compensation for loss of consortium, claiming that Edward McGuinness has suffered a loss of his wife’s care, comfort, consortium, support, and services.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs, Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore, have stated that Emma and Edward McGuinness are entitled to compensatory damages and taxable costs and are demanding a jury trial.
In response to the lawsuit, Walt Disney World Resort has not made any official statements but has been reached for comment. The lawsuit brings attention to the importance of safety measures and warnings in theme parks to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.
This incident is not the first time that a theme park has faced a lawsuit related to a “wedgie” injury. In 2013, a woman sued Universal Studios Orlando after suffering a similar injury on their water slide. The case was eventually settled out of court.
It remains to be seen how Walt Disney Parks and Resorts will respond to the current lawsuit and what additional safety measures they may put in place to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. As for the McGuinness family, they hope that their experience will bring attention to the potential dangers of water slides and prevent others from suffering similar injuries.
