Walt Disney Co. has settled a California amusement park accident lawsuit with a woman who sustained serious head injuries during a fall accident from a moving tram at Disneyland in Anaheim. Terms of the personal injury settlement have not been released.
The tragic Orange County, California amusement park accident happened in February 2007 while Qi Zhao was in the tram with her two sisters and a niece. They were riding the tram to their car in the parking lot.
According to the 48-year-old woman's California personal injury lawsuit, one of the sisters, who was asleep, fell off the tram as it entered a turnaround, which caused Zhao and the other sister to fall out of the vehicle. One of Zhao's sisters sustained minor injuries.
Zhao, whose head struck the pavement, sustained a fractured skull and serious head trauma. She was in a coma for a few weeks and now requires 24-hour medical care. She is getting that medical care in Beijing, China. Her amusement park complaint contends that the tram was going too fast.
Disney's lawyers disagree with Zhao's claim that the tram was moving at an unsafe speed. They say that the amusement park's trams cannot travel beyond 11 mph and that when the tram was making a turn, it was only traveling at 5 to 7 mph. They say that the tragic accident occurred because Zhao and her sisters failed to heed Disneyland's safety warnings.
Zhao's sisters have already settled their California personal injury claims with Disney.
Amusement Park Accident Facts
• According to RideAccidents.com, over 270 million people visit US amusement parks annually.
• About 7,000 of these visitors will have to visit an emergency room for treatment of their amusement park injuries.
In May 2009 alone, there were at least three US amusement park-related injuries, including:
• A 7-year-old boy who sustained serious burn injuries when his go-kart turned over and caught fire.
• A 14-year-old boy died in a drowning accident at a Wet 'N'Wild water park.
• An 8-year-old fell from a mechanical swing ride at a carnival. The child sustained minor injuries.
You may be entitled to California personal injury compensation for injuries you sustained while riding an amusement park ride or on the park premise.
Disney settles suit with woman who fell from tram, OC Register, May 27, 2009
Woman, Disney Settle Lawsuit in Tram Accident, KTLA, May 27, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Contact our Anaheim personal injury law firm about your Orange County, California amusement park accident case.
