02-06-2025
Man 'too heavy to ride waterslides' sues Disney over 'catastrophic injuries'
Eugene Strickland, who weighs 24 stone, is seeking more than £36k in damages against Disney World after he "became momentarily airborne" on the Downhill Dipper waterslide on July 21, 2021, according to his lawyers
A man is suing Disney World after allegedly suffering "catastrophic injuries" while riding down a waterslide at "exhilarating speeds" despite exceeding the weight limit.
Eugene Strickland launched a lawsuit against Disney on Thursday in Florida and is demanding more than £36,000 after accusing the theme park of negligence. Mr Strickland, who weighed 24 stone, chose to ride the slide despite the American Society for Testing and Materials recommending no one over 21 stone should use single-rider waterslides.
In the lawsuit, Mr Strickland claims he was visiting the Blizzard Beach water park on July 31, 2021, when he decided to get on the Downhill Dipper waterslide, which is described as a "high-speed" thrill ride that allows guests to race side-by-side, according to Disney's website. During the ride, guests "disappear into a black hole and plummet 50 feet downhill at exhilarating speeds."
Mr Strickland's lawyers said he "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.'
The lawsuit also claims the inner tube Mr Strickland used was defective and the theme park had allegedly used "deficient/inadequate/ ineffective underinflated inner tubes to be utilised on the premises knowing that they could forcefully dislodged from under the patrons relying on them."
'These injuries are permanent and continuing within a degree of medical probability, and Plaintiff will suffer these losses in the future,' Mr Strickland's lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.
The defendant claims Disney knew of the 'dangerous condition' of the ride which was a 'safety hazard.' It led to him suffering 'scarring [and] disfigurement,' according to the lawsuit.
In a statement on behalf of Mr Strickland, his lawyers said: 'Our client was severely injured on a ride at Disney's Blizzard Beach. He has filed a lawsuit alleging that it was the defendant's lax safety measures and oversight that contributed to those injuries. We are pursuing justice for him and working to hold Disney accountable for their alleged negligence.'
The case is scheduled for a jury trial beginning in May 2027, according to court documents.
It comes after a mum is suing Disney for nearly £2million, after she claims she was permanently scarred by a "mammoth" wave at the resort's Typhoon Lagoon.
The lawsuit claims she was "pummeled" by the wave as she grabbed her daughter from a water slide in the children's area of Magic Kingdom. Kimberly Panetta, 45, alleges she was 'violently struck by a sudden and forceful wave,' according to her Brooklyn Federal Court lawsuit.
'It was so powerful it was actually dragging us under the water for several feet,' Panetta told The Post of the April 2022 incident. 'I just thank God I had the sense to push her above as I was getting dragged. I knew if she was the one getting dragged she would have been cut all over.'
