Disney Fined Thousands After OSHA Investigation Of Worker Death

[disneydiva72]

May 27th, 2008

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Federal investigators hit Walt Disney World with thousands of dollars in fines for an accident that killed a worker. Karen Price, 63, died in November of 2007 when she was knocked down on the loading dock of the Primeval Whirl ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Disney $21,500 for five violations at the ride. A Disney spokesperson said the company's deepest sympathies remain with Price family.The company also said it is still reviewing the OSHA findings and has already made changes to the loading platform of the ride. Disney installed sensor mats that shut down the ride if anyone walks into off-limit areas of the platform.

 

[kimmychad]

while I'm certainly glad disney did something about the problems with the ride, it shouldn't have taken an osha investigation in order for them to fix the problems.

 

[Boray]

We were visiting the world when the accident happened. Glad to see Disney is acting proactively to not have something like this happen again.

 

[Disneykidder]

I have issues with this ride. It actually hurt me. I have been on it once and that is enough for me. My niece loved it and rode it 3 times in a row with three different members of the family because none of us wanted to ride it again. I was tossed around like a salad.

As far as the woman who passed away, I feel sorry for her family but WAS she stepping where she wasn't supposed to?

 

[Phonedave]

As far as OSHA is concerned $21,500 is peanuts.

The amount tells me that most likey they found that Disney was not negligent, or blatantly unsafe. Nor did they encourage an atmosphere of non-safety, but that instead they had not implimented certain safety percautions and or procedures that they could have, or if such procedures were in place, they were not communicated effectively.

-dave

 

[jtwyatt]

while I'm certainly glad disney did something about the problems with the ride, it shouldn't have taken an osha investigation in order for them to fix the problems.

Disney did start to fix the problem before the investigations and fines.

That being said, my thoughts and prayers are with the Price Family and friends.

 

[fosse76]

As far as OSHA is concerned $21,500 is peanuts.

The amount tells me that most likey they found that Disney was not negligent, or blatantly unsafe. Nor did they encourage an atmosphere of non-safety, but that instead they had not implimented certain safety percautions and or procedures that they could have, or if such procedures were in place, they were not communicated effectively.

-dave

If they didn't think Disney was negligent they wouldn't have fined them at all. I don't think OSHA can just arbitrarily pick a number and levy that as a fine. I believe the fines are pre-determined based on the conditions discovered. Otherwise, the agency would be more highly corruptable than it already is.

 

[disneydata]

This was not totally Disney's fault. The woman was in an area she was not supposed to be in.

Not taking sides or playing down the situation, just trying to state all the facts.

 

[maryszhi]

that is so sad, and i am happy to see disney is doing something about it. that ride is fun, but safety comes first. my sympathy to the family who had this happen

 

[fizzle75]

As far as OSHA is concerned $21,500 is peanuts.

The amount tells me that most likey they found that Disney was not negligent, or blatantly unsafe. Nor did they encourage an atmosphere of non-safety, but that instead they had not implimented certain safety percautions and or procedures that they could have, or if such procedures were in place, they were not communicated effectively.

-dave

That's the first thing I thought when I read the article. OSHA can be a bear to deal with(for good reason)and I've seen fines that large for multiple small infractions in grocery stores, so that is a relatively small fine for a large company like Disney. This was basically a slap on the wrist but I'm glad to see that Disney are being proactive and are taking measures to ensure not only that they comply with OSHA'S regulations but that it's guests and employees are safe. After all, that's what OSHA is there for.

Edit-Oh, and just for the record...I'll never set foot on Primeval Hurl!:hurl:

 

[progroupie]

This was not totally Disney's fault. The woman was in an area she was not supposed to be in.

Not taking sides or playing down the situation, just trying to state all the facts.

I don't think OSHA fined them because they thought the actual accident was Disney's fault, I think when they investigated the accident they found that Disney was violating some safety codes in general that may or may not have been related to the original accident.

 

[sknydave]

OSHA seems to bring out the heavy fines when it relates to chemical hazards