By KBC Associate :max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(975x641:977x643)/Disney-World-Water-Slide-053125-08-282d1b1f30a648ada6ff16a171350328.jpg?ssl=1 "Man Suing Walt Disney World’s Blizzard Beach Over Alleged Water Slide Injury")
NEED TO KNOW
- Eugene Strickland is accusing Walt Disney World of negligence and seeking more than $50,000 in damages, according to a complaint filed on May 29
- Strickland sustained an injury on the Downhill Double Dipper water slide at the resort’s Blizzard Beach park during a July 2021 visit, he claims in the complaint
- At the time of the incident, he was approximately 34 lbs. over the attraction’s 300 lb. weight limit
A man is accusing Walt Disney World of negligence and suing for damages, claiming he sustained enduring injuries on a park water slide.
Eugene Strickland filed a complaint against the theme park on Thursday, May 29. He is seeking more than $50,000 in damages for the incident, which occurred at the Blizzard Beach water park in Bay Lake, Fla., and allegedly left him with injuries he is still dealing with nearly four years later.
While riding the Downhill Double Dipper during a July 2021 park visit, Strickland “became momentarily airborne” and suffered “permanent catastrophic injuries as a result,” according to the newly filed complaint.
At the time, Strickland weighed approximately 334 lbs., which surpassed the stated weight limit of the ride, which was 300 lbs., the complaint states.
It is not clear in the complaint whether he was aware of the limit before entering the slide.
Disney
While on the water slide — which the Walt Disney World website describes as “side-by-side high-speed slides” — Strickland caught air thanks to the attraction’s design and “exhilarating speeds,” the complaint states.
This allegedly caused his inner tube to dislodge from beneath him and made him “land with force onto the hard plastic surface of the slide.”
As a result, Strickland claims he “suffered serious bodily injury and resulting pain and suffering, disability, scarring, disfigurement, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life,” according to the complaint.
Strickland argues that Walt Disney World was negligent and failed to maintain safe premises. He also claims that the theme park was aware of the “safety hazard” and “concealed trap” that led to his injuries.
Joe Raedle/Getty
The park, the complaint claims, had a responsibility to remedy — or least warn him of — the “dangerous conditions” of the attraction.
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The case is scheduled for a jury trial beginning in May 2027, according to court documents viewed by PEOPLE.
Strickland’s attorney, Alberto Oliveri, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Sunday, June 1, nor did a spokesperson for Walt Disney World.