A 70-Year-Old American Received $10.4 Billion in Damages After a Slip at an Amusement Park with Grandchildren

Court Finds Theme Park Negligent
"Created a Dangerous Situation... Failed to Take Proper Safety Measures"

A woman in her 70s who slipped and injured her spinal vertebrae while getting off a ride at Universal Studios Hollywood in the United States filed a lawsuit for damages and won, receiving $7.25 million (approximately 10.4 billion KRW).

Universal Studios Hollywood, a theme park located in Los Angeles, California, USA. Universal Studios official website.

According to the Associated Press and others on the 25th (local time), Pamela Morrison (74), who resides in Arizona, USA, visited Universal Studios Hollywood, a theme park in Los Angeles, California, with her grandson in September 2022, where she slipped and was injured.

She was about to ride the popular attraction "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter," but a theme park employee asked Morrison to get off the ride, saying her seatbelt was not properly fastened. However, Morrison slipped while getting off the ride. She lost her balance and fell between the moving conveyor belt and the fixed floor.

As a result of the accident, Morrison suffered severe fractures below her waist and injuries to the muscles around her hips. This left her unable to use the restroom independently.

After the accident, Morrison filed a lawsuit against the theme park. Morrison’s legal representatives argued that the accident was foreseeable. They claimed that if the theme park operator had simply stopped the conveyor belt to allow Morrison to get off safely, the accident could have been prevented, but the theme park neglected safety measures in order to meet the goal of accommodating 1,800 riders per hour.

On the other hand, the theme park argued that Morrison failed to exercise due care. They claimed that Morrison was distracted by her grandson who accompanied her, which caused her to fall. The theme park also presented surveillance camera footage of the incident as evidence.

The California jury concluded that the theme park was responsible. They recognized the theme park’s negligence for failing to take appropriate safety measures despite creating a dangerous situation. The court ruled that the theme park must pay Morrison a total of $7.25 million in damages. Specifically, $250,000 for economic damages, $2 million for non-economic damages such as mental and physical suffering caused by the injury, and $5 million for future non-economic damages.