Monorail Pilot's Mother Is Suing Disney

[hardcard]

And the best way to do this is to go to Denny's and order food.

Right.

I hope Disney doesn't get a chance to destroy the evidence before this woman gets to court.

1. Do you go to a restaurant during a lunch break? So do they, no different.

2. Disney isn't going to 'destroy' evidence.. it's pretty difficult to dispute what happened

3. Finally, you are naive if you think this will ever see a court-room..

naive at best..

 

[Tink313]

Okay this situation is just horrible. I know this happen to lot of good ppl. You do your job the best you can, and your allowed to do things (like go off property; either as a quick break or to do a run for others on your shift) and an infortunate event happens, and something that you have done routinely is now under scrutiny. And most likely this one CM will be the fall guy only because he was off property. Was it his fault maybe not, does it look like he will get in trouble for it yes.
I havent read all of the other thread (I tried its really long) But I think I remember that I read that the cm who was off property gave an order for the monorail to back up to switch tracks. Which in hindsight he shouldnt of

 

[Mr.EPCOT]

And the best way to do this is to go to Denny's and order food.

Right.

And, once again, you don't know that that's what happened. Even if you did, you don't have the experience of this work environment to make that judgment.

Orlando Sentinel is vaguely close to how I understand what happened, but still quite off the mark. But it is very correct that they can go off property for their break, any Cast Member can. Many of the Central coordinators are decent enough to help out during their break if necessary. Don't take that to mean that they are lax in their awareness of what's going on.

In speaking with another fellow Pilot just now, it in fact sounds like this manager was out getting pizza for the Monorail Cast Members who had to work this tough holiday. It makes perfect sense to me now, having pizza ready for us at the end of the night was a common practice for strenuous holidays. I believe I'd also heard that he'd sent the Central coordinator home earlier in the evening because he was feeling ill.

 

[Figment632]

I don't think they are allowed to be at Denny's at all.

Im not so sure this is true :shrug:

 

[disneypearl]

Okay, people are making the Denny's thing out to to be a bigger thing than it really is. 1) Central has no real need to be in the Tower. What's really required to do the position is the mental aptitude to keep track of everything that's going on. Depending on circumstances, they might have to be out and about for one reason or another. The CMs on the Concourse platform could have stopped the collision as Central could have if he were in the Tower. 2) If this is the manager I think it is, if he truly was out at Denny's or something (which we don't even know as a fact), he was probably out getting food for Cast Members that hadn't had a break all day, or something to that effect. And at 2 AM! You all are making him out to be some vastly irresponsible, lazy bum who's abusing his authority, and this gentlemen is quite the opposite of that.
He is very, very experienced in Monorails, one of the Company's very best Cast Members, and an awesome guy altogether. None of my fellow Pilots that I've spoken to have blamed him for this AT ALL. So all of you can stop this train of thought right now. You should ashamed for condemning a man like that without knowing the full set of circumstances.

Thanks for saying this. I feel for everybody involved in this accident. It is horrible for everyone and I hope the people involved have the support they need.

 

[board57796]

Thanks for saying this. I feel for everybody involved in this accident. It is horrible for everyone and I hope the people involved have the support they need.

I agree. Had anyone at this site had an encounter with the Manager in question, they would have wanted to come home and rave on this board about what a quality Cast Member he was, not just to the Guests but to his Cast Members.

 

[TalkingHead]

1. Do you go to a restaurant during a lunch break? So do they, no different.

2. Disney isn't going to 'destroy' evidence.. it's pretty difficult to dispute what happened

3. Finally, you are naive if you think this will ever see a court-room..

naive at best..

You must be high on pixie nose dust if you think that Disney plays fair when it comes to potential lawsuits. Especially when the lawsuit is legitimate and they know they're busted.

They'll probably settle out of court like someone else said.

And it seems hard to believe that a Central coordinator would be calling in sick at 2 am. Guess I need to snort more pixie dust like some of you if I want to believe that.

 

[board57796]

You must be high on pixie nose dust if you think that Disney plays fair when it comes to potential lawsuits. Especially when the lawsuit is legitimate and they know they're busted.

They'll probably settle out of court like someone else said.

And it seems hard to believe that a Central coordinator would be calling in sick at 2 am. Guess I need to snort more pixie dust like some of you if I want to believe that.

Read here:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-disney-monorail-crash-071509,0,5258965.story

The coordinator called the manager via radio to request to be sent home. He was already there, working, and fell ill. He did not "call in" to his shift. Yes, it was 2am but keep in mind he still would have had 3-4 hours left in his shift.

The manager (who was off-property on HIS LUNCH) approved this and appointed another Central coordinator, and the wreck occured before the other coordinator could get to the tower or assume the position (possibly on his break also).

Had an accident occured while the sick coordinator was trying to continue to work, people here would be saying "He should have gone home, why is a SICK PERSON controlling the operations?!"

 

[NadieMasK2]

You must be high on pixie nose dust if you think that Disney plays fair when it comes to potential lawsuits. Especially when the lawsuit is legitimate and they know they're busted.

They'll probably settle out of court like someone else said.

And it seems hard to believe that a Central coordinator would be calling in sick at 2 am. Guess I need to snort more pixie dust like some of you if I want to believe that.

I didn't realize that illness is typically so considerate when it visits - my biological "illness clock" must be in need of repair.

Seriously - why is that hard to believe? Ever had the stomach flu?

 

[Wilt Dasney]

Read here:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-disney-monorail-crash-071509,0,5258965.story

The coordinator called the manager via radio to request to be sent home. He was already there, working, and fell ill. He did not "call in" to his shift. Yes, it was 2am but keep in mind he still would have had 3-4 hours left in his shift.

The manager (who was off-property on HIS LUNCH) approved this and appointed another Central coordinator, and the wreck occured before the other coordinator could get to the tower or assume the position (possibly on his break also).

Had an accident occured while the sick coordinator was trying to continue to work, people here would be saying "He should have gone home, why is a SICK PERSON controlling the operations?!"

I'm loath to join in all the Monday morning quarterbacking here, but from what you've said and what the article indicates, it sounds like the sick coordinator should have stayed at his base until his relief arrived. This sounds like a position that needs to be manned at all times, based on what I've read.

Obviously, some people here know a good deal about monorail operations, but it's hard for me to see how an off-site manager can effectively coordinate the trains, since he can't physically observe a track switch. At best, he's having to rely on the word of other CM's.

This part of the article stands out to me:

The accident happened before the second employee had taken over. It occurred while the manager was coordinating the trains temporarily via radio -- off-site and away from a central console that would have shown the track switch had not been activated.

I'm not going to blame a manager who's on a well-deserved break and who has an employee complaining to him about being sick while he's trying to eat. And I'm sure whoever was involved has a world of guilt, whether they deserve it or not. It just sounds like a bad situation all around. Hopefully some procedural adjustments will come out of it.

Edit: It sounds like Disney has already made changes similar to what I posted.

What's more, at the time of the crash, Disney did not require the system's central coordinators to be stationed by the console at all times, one person said. The resort changed that policy in the aftermath of the accident to ensure the coordinator is always at the console when trains are switching tracks.

 

[hardcard]

You must be high on pixie nose dust if you think that Disney plays fair when it comes to potential lawsuits. Especially when the lawsuit is legitimate and they know they're busted.

They'll probably settle out of court like someone else said.

And it seems hard to believe that a Central coordinator would be calling in sick at 2 am. Guess I need to snort more pixie dust like some of you if I want to believe that.

actually, that was ME that said they would settle out of court.

Disney will play fair, they won't 'give up and roll over' but they'll play fair, especially in this case...

Anyone can get sick ANYTIME, thats how the human condition works. I've 'started' feeling ill late in the evening, or in the morning... 'sick' doesn't have a clock..Either way, the blame doesn't lay with the sick employee, they handed-off theiur responsibility as per protocol.. I don't like finger pointing, but this problem started when the maintenance employee failed to move the switch, plain and simple..

and do me a favor, keep the personal attacks to yourself.. I'm sure you wouldn't dare say I was 'high on nose pixie dust' to me in person, so why say it here? Because you can hide behind your keyboard?

 

[hrcollectibles]

I don't think they are allowed to be at Denny's at all.

These Cast members went to Denny's or Perkins on Purpose? :hurl:

Imagine how many times this has happened without them being caught.... Maybe this will shed some light to the higher ups and perhaps a change in procedure.

 

[hrcollectibles]

Okay, people are making the Denny's thing out to to be a bigger thing than it really is. 1) Central has no real need to be in the Tower. What's really required to do the position is the mental aptitude to keep track of everything that's going on. Depending on circumstances, they might have to be out and about for one reason or another. The CMs on the Concourse platform could have stopped the collision as Central could have if he were in the Tower. 2) If this is the manager I think it is, if he truly was out at Denny's or something (which we don't even know as a fact), he was probably out getting food for Cast Members that hadn't had a break all day, or something to that effect. And at 2 AM! You all are making him out to be some vastly irresponsible, lazy bum who's abusing his authority, and this gentlemen is quite the opposite of that.
He is very, very experienced in Monorails, one of the Company's very best Cast Members, and an awesome guy altogether. None of my fellow Pilots that I've spoken to have blamed him for this AT ALL. So all of you can stop this train of thought right now. You should ashamed for condemning a man like that without knowing the full set of circumstances.

Isn't it against labor laws to work without a break? Or is Disney above the law

 

[board57796]

These Cast members went to Denny's or Perkins on Purpose?



Imagine how many times this has happened without them being caught.... Maybe this will shed some light to the higher ups and perhaps a change in procedure.

The supervisor that was off property during their shift was on their designated dinner break and was permitted to be off property.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-disney-monorail-crash-071509,0,5258965.story

Its not really something that they can be "caught" doing though. Imagine sitting at lunch on your designated lunch period and your boss coming in and saying "I caught you!" In your post above you say "Isn't it against labor laws to work without a break? Or is Disney above the law?" and yet also say in the post above that people should be somehow "caught" on their designated breaks by other managers?

 

[hrcollectibles]

Did you read the article linked in my response, 4 posts above yours? :shrug:

The supervisor that was off property during their shift was on their designated dinner break and was permitted to be off property.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-disney-monorail-crash-071509,0,5258965.story

I see as I was typing my reply as you were editing yours, but still, what is there to get "caught" doing? He was on his break?

While you were replying to my post I did some editing

 

[WDW_Jon]

This is clearly a tragic ACCIDENT which may have occured due to many different factors.

Trying to pin this on any individual by assuming he was acting irresponsibly or breaking rules in anyway is pretty dumb considering the people who are blaming the guy don't have a clue how things work or how it could of occured.

Everybody is saddened by the loss and the way in which it happened, but speculating about the events of that evening and trying to label someone as incompetent without much real info (considering the 10 different reasons/stories on here) is stupid.

Let the powers that be determine what has happened and then discuss how things can be improved in future so this doesn't happen again.

RIP Austin

 

[KeeKee]

As has been stated here quite succinctly, the problem was that the switch to the spur line was never made properly thus allowing the accident to happen. It had nothing to do with the manager or where he was monitoring his radio from.

The accuracy of this discussion hinges on having the facts, all of the facts, so why not wait for the NTSB report? Speculation amongst individuals who aren't even CMs, let alone Monorail CMs, isn't worth a hill of beans.

 

[s8film40]

These Cast members went to Denny's or Perkins on Purpose? :hurl:

Imagine how many times this has happened without them being caught.... Maybe this will shed some light to the higher ups and perhaps a change in procedure.

Federal laws allow employees to eat wherever they want during breaks, Disney has no say in the matter. I'm sure Disney would prefer all castmembers eat in the on location cafeterias but limiting them to do such is illegal.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

As has been stated here quite succinctly, the problem was that the switch to the spur line was never made properly thus allowing the accident to happen. It had nothing to do with the manager or where he was monitoring his radio from.

If the space shuttle had a major technical problem and NASA had nobody monitoring the launch on site to make sure it went off without a hitch, so the mistake was never caught, I can't imagine people making this same argument.

Granted, the literal mistake came at the track switch, but to say that having no one on site who could actually see what has happening is completely irrelevant to the accident seems like an odd argument to me. It seems like the whole point of having on-site monitors is so they can catch mistakes like this one.

And just to state it again...this isn't intended to blame any individual, just the system that allowed this to happen. Disney apparently agrees, based on the changes the story says they implemented.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

These Cast members went to Denny's or Perkins on Purpose? :hurl:

Imagine how many times this has happened without them being caught.... Maybe this will shed some light to the higher ups and perhaps a change in procedure.

Mr. EPCOT said that they are allowed to. Something that boggles me.:shrug: How can they be away and do their job well?