Disneyland Sued in 140 Injury Cases in 5 Years

Disneyland's theme parks in Anaheim, Calif., have been hit with nearly 140 lawsuits alleging personal injuries over the past five years, a newspaper's review has found.

Meantime, Knott's Berry Farm in nearby Buena Park has been named in 50 personal injury suits since 2007, The Orange County Register reports.

The paper's analysis of lawsuits reveals some of the major causes of visitor injuries at Disneyland, Disney's California Adventure, and Knott's Berry Farm, and shows that most cases reached out-of-court settlements or were dismissed.

Slip-and-fall accidents were by far the most common cause of Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland injury lawsuits, the Register found. About one-third of all lawsuits against the theme parks were filed after visitors tripped, fell, or slipped on the ground, floor, or pavement.

In one such case, a woman sued after she slipped on eggs that were left on the floor of Goofy's Kitchen in a Disneyland hotel, the Register reports. The woman settled her case out of court.

Other cases that settled include:

• A man who sued Disney after a theme park worker allegedly poured hot coffee on his arm.
• A man who sued Knott's after a wagon-wheel bench allegedly rolled over when he sat on it, causing him to fall backward onto the ground.
• A man who sued Disney after a sheet of metal allegedly blew off a snack stand and hit him.

Injury lawsuits against Disney and Cedar Fair, which owns Knott's, rarely made it in front of a jury over the past five years. The companies have a public-relations incentive to settle cases quickly and quietly, a law professor told the Register.

In fact, Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm each lost just one jury trial since 2007, the Register found: Disney paid a woman more than $500,000 after a food-court umbrella blew over and hit her in the head, triggering seizures; Knott's paid $71,000 to a woman who tripped on a curb and fractured her ankle.

But with a combined 25 million visitors a year to Southern California theme parks, the number of Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland injury lawsuits is actually quite small.

If your visit to a theme park results in injury, an experienced personal injury attorney can help investigate your case and make sure you're not taken for a ride.

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