Disney sued over a wedgie at TL

[flynnibus]

If i was as harmed as she says she ways again not saying she is lying there is NO way im waiting this long to file

Well, pray you never get into a legal medical dispute then.

Meanwhile… in reality those who have gone through it recognize there is nothing expedient about the process. This is all usually done in the arrears. Even a simple traffic accident case can take years fighting with insurance before you take them to court if settlement isn’t achieved.

This isn’t TV where they reach settlement in a 4 min dramatic face to face meeting.

 

[The Mom]

I don’t believe it is that uncommon for people to seek other avenues of recourse before suing. Many times, it is a last resort because they aren't having their issues addressed elsewhere. It is even more common for people to wait if it is something they may be embarrassed by or feel shame.

Who knows if that is actual the case here but I don't think the delayed filing is all that out of the ordinary.

I filed a lawsuit (not for personal injury) only after trying to resolve the issue without going to court. That took about a year before the suit was filed. My case was much less involved than what is happening here.

 

[Splash4eva]

Well, pray you never get into a legal medical dispute then.

Meanwhile… in reality those who have gone through it recognize there is nothing expedient about the process. This is all usually done in the arrears. Even a simple traffic accident case can take years fighting with insurance before you take them to court if settlement isn’t achieved.

This isn’t TV where they reach settlement in a 4 min dramatic face to face meeting.

Now you are moving the goal posts. Listen im well aware of the legal process as my of one best friends is a lawyer for this specific field. How long it takes to settle and how long it takes to file are apples to oranges. Im really not in mood to debate this back and forth all day long but if they tried to make a deal and couldnt maybe the case is not as strong and if they didnt and waited this long to file that goes back to my point…. Either way im not losing sleep over this and will not being chewing at the bits to see the outcome of this years from now…

 

[Coaster Lover]

I studied that one in one of my biz law classes.

IIRC, the big factor was that not only was the coffee extremely hot, but that particular McDonald's franchise was keeping it well above McDonald's corporate guidelines and had previous reports and been told they were not complying with corporate guidelines.

It's a fascinating case for sure... and I certainly took the bait for many years with the whole "how could someone sue over spilled coffee?!?" The coffee was heated to between 180 to 190 degrees... hot enough to cause 3rd degree burns and 40-50 degrees hotter than most people heat their coffee to at home.

 

[LittleBuford]

It's a fascinating case for sure... and I certainly took the bait for many years with the whole "how could someone sue over spilled coffee?!?" The coffee was heated to between 180 to 190 degrees... hot enough to cause 3rd degree burns and 40-50 degrees hotter than most people heat their coffee to at home.

This makes me wonder what corporate guidelines are for tea, which is typically prepared with boiling water at home.

 

[flynnibus]

Listen im well aware of the legal process as my of one best friends is a lawyer for this specific field. How long it takes to settle and how long it takes to file are apples to oranges

Then talk to your friend and ask him "Do you file the lawsuit first, or do you try to work things out between the parties before you start the legal proceedings? Which do I do first, get treatment or file the lawsuit?".

Apparently, the answers will surprise you because you will learn that they will spend all the energy to NOT file a suit until they have to -- because it changes the dynamics, who is involved, and how the parties interact.

Settlement attempts are tried BEFORE filing a lawsuit - they are not 'apples to oranges' topics - it literally is part of the process both before and during a lawsuit.

 

[flynnibus]

I filed a lawsuit (not for personal injury) only after trying to resolve the issue without going to court. That took about a year before the suit was filed. My case was much less involved than what is happening here.

apparently you just needed Splash4eva's friend. Live and learn!

 

[danlb_2000]

Well, pray you never get into a legal medical dispute then.

Meanwhile… in reality those who have gone through it recognize there is nothing expedient about the process. This is all usually done in the arrears. Even a simple traffic accident case can take years fighting with insurance before you take them to court if settlement isn’t achieved.

This isn’t TV where they reach settlement in a 4 min dramatic face to face meeting.

... and imagine having to deal with all the legal stuff while you are trying to heal, and in the middle of a global pandemic.

 

[flynnibus]

... and imagine having to deal with all the legal stuff while you are trying to heal, and in the middle of a global pandemic.

Seems like nothing compared to the scrutiny from some anonymous internet posters with zero insight or experience

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

What is bothering me the most about this thread at the moment is the misspelling of Wedgie in the title

 

[Nubs70]

When you dig into the injuries, it was bit more than a wedgie. More like when you slice cheese with a string

 

[Rhinocerous]

I visited that park twice when I was a young kid. It was worse than the documentary made it out to be. I remember going home both times after the visits with bruises and cuts. Most people you saw at the park were hurt in some way. It was fun though! I can only imagine the lawsuits that would be filed daily in today’s world of places like that existed.

I went there on a high school trip and left a bunch of skin on the Alpine Slide. By all accounts, I got off pretty easy.

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

Thanks OP , for sorting that

 

[Weather_Lady]

Who knows if that is actual the case here but I don't think the delayed filing is all that out of the ordinary.

Attorney of over 20 years here. As some other posters have indicated, you are right. It's extremely common to wait until the last minute ("last minute" defined with reference to the applicable statite of limitations). Timing makes no difference: courts don't put a smiley sticker on your summons and give you extra credit, let alone view the case with a less critical eye, for filing suit on the first possible day instead of the last.

Lawsuits are, and should be, a last resort. Parties will typically try to negotiate first, which can be a lengthy process. Plus, in the case of personal injuries, it can make sense to wait if you're the plaintiff, to make sure that any administrative investigations related to your injury are complete, all the ways you've been injured have been diagnosed, all the long-term effects have been identified and taken into account, and all the out-of-pocket expenses have been documented (and future ones can be estimated with reasonable certainty). While you can always add such things to the case later, you're in a better bargaining position to settle the case quickly (which is often the real goal and the best possible outcome for everyone) if you have that information at the outset.

On a personal note, if the condition of my vagina and bowels were about to become national news, with an army of Disney lawyers and publicists and a callous American public primed to scrutinize, mock, and trivialize my body, my reputation, and my case before a single piece of evidence had even been presented, you can bet I'd wait until the last possible second to file, after all other avenues had been exhausted, and after I'd had sufficient time to prepare myself and my family, mentally, for what was to come.

 

[Goofyernmost]

The only thing that comes to my mind is how thin was the string on that thong? It seems that guys would be more likely to have a nether region injury than a woman. But never having been a woman, what do I know.

 

[Weather_Lady]

The only thing that comes to my mind is how thin was the string on that thong? It seems that guys would be more likely to have a nether region injury than a woman. But never having been a woman, what do I know.

It wasn't a thong style. The complaint attaches pictures.

 

[DisneyCane]

The only thing that comes to my mind is how thin was the string on that thong? It seems that guys would be more likely to have a nether region injury than a woman. But never having been a woman, what do I know.

I don't think there is enough force created by the water to injure a male (beyond some short term pain if the force is applied just right). The question here is if there is enough force created by fabric being "yanked," for lack of a better word, hard enough inside of the lady parts for the friction created to cause a serious injury.

I think it would take some experiments using dummies wearing a similar fitting swimsuit wired up with sensors to determine what the potential is. Absent those type of experiments, I, if I was a juror, would not be able to conclude that the injuries could have or should have been prevented by Disney.

My gut says that the water would tend to flow around the body and swimsuit enough that it would not reach high enough pressure to apply an intense enough force. It's not the same as shooting the output of a pressure washer into somebody's crotch where the water pressure has already been created. In the incident being described the pressure is created by the body/fabric trying to displace the water. However, my gut isn't scientific proof so experiments and calculations would need to be done.

 

[DisneyCane]

What makes you think it was a thong style?

The one I wore down that slide certainly wasn't, but it became one (front and back ) by the time I reached the bottom!

Also, the injuries alleged here are internal in nature, which is what one would expect given a woman's anatomy.

I would think that a thong style (if a woman was inappropriately wearing one at a family water park) would be less likely to have this issue because there is less fabric surface area to be acted upon by the water pressure.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I don't think there is enough force created by the water to injure a male (beyond some short term pain if the force is applied just right). The question here is if there is enough force created by fabric being "yanked," for lack of a better word, hard enough inside of the lady parts for the friction created to cause a serious injury.

I think it would take some experiments using dummies wearing a similar fitting swimsuit wired up with sensors to determine what the potential is. Absent those type of experiments, I, if I was a juror, would not be able to conclude that the injuries could have or should have been prevented by Disney.

My gut says that the water would tend to flow around the body and swimsuit enough that it would not reach high enough pressure to apply an intense enough force. It's not the same as shooting the output of a pressure washer into somebody's crotch where the water pressure has already been created. In the incident being described the pressure is created by the body/fabric trying to displace the water. However, my gut isn't scientific proof so experiments and calculations would need to be done.

Scientific proof isn't required to prove causation in a case like this. Under the common law principle of res ipsa loquitur ("the thing speaks for itself"), which applies in tort cases in Florida and most other American jurisdictions, a reasonable finder of fact (that is, a jury, or in the case of a bench trial, a judge) need only conclude that a 30-year-old woman who looks and feels healthy and uninjured at the top of a waterslide within Disney's sole exclusive control does not arrive at the bottom seconds later, gushing blood from internal lacerations so extensive that her bowel is protruding into her vaginal cavity, in the absence of some negligence on the part of Disney. (*As such, if you were a juror, it would be your duty to apply that common-sense standard as the judge described it to you. You could not substitute your personal notions of what might be proved with pressure washers and crotch test dummies, because the results of any such tests would be irrelevant.)

After that, the fact-finder's job is to determine whether the injured woman or any other person bears any proportional share of responsibility for her injuries (e.g., if she purposely disregarded safety instructions) that reduces or eliminates Disney's share of liability, as the designer/builder/owner/operator of the slide.

 

[VicariousCorpse]

Effective , yes. In 2015 there was a CM that was sexually assaulted by a House of Blues staff member and a security CM found her half dressed in the early morning hours in the bushes in front of HOB in Disney Springs. The HOB staff member was fired and arrested, charged with sexual battery. Later after meeting with legal teams, the CM decided to drop the charges.

Crime victims do not get to decide if charges are dropped.