Disneyland Injury Lawyers
Thousands of people all over the world visit Disneyland each year. Though Disneyland provides safety warnings throughout its theme park, several patrons and employees suffer extensive injuries. If you have recently been injured as a patron or while working at Disneyland, contact us for a consultation. You may be entitled to compensation depending on the nature of your injury. Read on to learn more about how our Disneyland injury lawyers can help you and your family following a Disneyland accident.
Disneyland Patron Injuries
Common Disneyland injuries include slips, trips and falls. There are many reasons behind such accidents taking place. For example, food court staff may fail to immediately wipe up any spilled beverages on a slippery surface. A department store may not have notified patrons of hazardous conditions inside. There may be uneven surfaces on sidewalks and walkways. Despite some of Disneyland’s best efforts in ensuring safety, accidents will occur.
Determining whether Disneyland is responsible for your injury will depend on many factors. As a park guest, Disneyland has a legal duty to ensure their premises are safe. As a park patron that suffered an accident, you will have to prove the following in order to prevail in a premise liability claim against Disneyland: 1) You were an invitee or licensee on the premises; 2) Disneyland owned or leased the property in which your injury occurred; 3) Disneyland was negligent in the use of the property by failing to adequately fix or warn you about the dangerous or hazardous condition causing your injury; and 4) You suffered an injury as a result of the unsafe condition.
Disneyland’s negligence must be a substantial factor in causing your harm. You must provide evidence which proves Disneyland’s negligence was reasonably foreseeable.
Disneyland Employee Injuries
As a Disneyland employee, you must file your work injury within a short period to receive workers’ compensation benefits. File an injury report with your employer. Consult an attorney and provide him/her with the report. When retaining legal counsel, the attorney will reach out to Disneyland’s workers’ compensation insurance provider and request a settlement amount. Do not negotiate a settlement amount with Disneyland’s insurance company without consulting an attorney. You have rights as an employee in California.
What to Do After a Disneyland Accident
If you have suffered an injury while at Disneyland, seek immediate medical care. If you do not feel in immediate need of emergency care, contact a Disneyland employee to file an injury report about what happened. Obtain a copy of the report if possible and refuse to sign any documents the park’s staff may present to you. Obtain the contact information of the staff member that documented the accident. Record footage of the area in which the injury occurred. Try and record witness statements and take photos of bodily bruising. Obtain the contact information of each witness in the event you need to reach out to them in the future. Contact a personal injury attorney immediately following the accident to find out how to obtain compensation for your injury.
If you are a Disneyland employee, make sure you follow all workers’ compensation injury reporting procedures. Again, if the company requests for you to sign a document, request to have time to review it with your lawyer prior to doing so. Disneyland may present you with certain documents to reduce their liability. Politely take the documents and let them know you will review it after receiving a medical examination. The park may request that you visit their workers’ compensation doctor. You should visit your primary care doctor first before scheduling a medical exam with your employer’s provider.
Why You Should Hire a Disneyland Accident Attorney
Disneyland is a world-renowned theme park. Disneyland has an army of attorneys that seek to limit liability for park related accidents. Hire an experienced Disneyland accident attorney. An experienced attorney will know what investigations to conduct and evidence to collect to support your injury claim. An experienced attorney will also provide you with legal guidance and advice on when to accept or reject a settlement offer.
Hire an attorney that has successfully settled injury cases in the past with theme parks and who has prevailed in litigated cases. If an attorney has no trial experience, he/she will likely lose in court against Disneyland’s legal team.
Let Our Disneyland Workers Compensation Lawyers Help
When you file a workers’ compensation claim against Disneyland, their insurance company will present you with a settlement offer. Do not accept an offer without first consulting with an attorney. The offered amount may not cover your injury related expenses. An experienced attorney will provide you with legal advice on when to accept or reject an amount while protecting your employment rights.
If you are unable to reach a settlement amount, the workers’ compensation attorney can file a claim with the state agency. A judge will review the claim and supporting evidence and issue a determination. Depending on the nature of your injury, you may be awarded temporary or permanent workers’ compensation benefits. Contact us for more information.
Benefits Awarded in Disneyland Accidents
Depending on the nature of your injury, you may receive compensatory and general damages. Compensatory damages are awarded to make a plaintiff whole. This includes compensation for current and future lost wages, current and future medical expenses, and household expenses related from your injury. General damages are awarded to compensate a plaintiff for pain and suffering, mental anguish, and the loss of consortium. In rare cases, a court may award punitive damages to punish the defendant.
Recent DisneyLand Injury Cases
DisneyLand has shut down two bacteria-contaminated cooling towers after Orange County health officials discovered several cases of Legionnaires’ disease in people who had visited the Anaheim theme park, authorities said.
The 12 cases of the bacteria-caused illness were discovered about three weeks ago among people who had spent time in Anaheim and included nine people who had visited Disneyland Park in September before developing the illness, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. Their ages ranged from 52 to 94.
The remaining three were Orange County residents who did not visit the park but lived or traveled in Anaheim.
Ten were hospitalized and one person “with additional health issues” died, according to health officials. That person did not visit Disneyland.
Legionnaires’ is a severe lung infection caused by exposure to contaminated water or mist. Authorities said they have not tied any other cases of Legionnaires’ to Anaheim since September.
“There is no known ongoing risk associated with this outbreak,” the healthcare agency said in a statement.
The towers are in a backstage area near the New Orleans Square Train Station, each more than 100 feet from areas accessible to guests, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman said Friday. A Disneyland employee is among those who fell ill with the disease.
“On Oct. 27, we learned from the Orange County Health Care Agency of increased Legionnaires’ disease cases in Anaheim. We conducted a review and learned that two cooling towers had elevated levels of Legionella bacteria,” Dr. Pamela Hymel, chief medical officer for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said in a statement Friday. “These towers were treated with chemicals that destroy the bacteria and are currently shut down.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified county authorities about three weeks ago of several cases of the disease among people who had traveled to Orange County in September. County epidemiologists discovered that a cluster of people diagnosed with the disease had recently visited, lived or worked in Anaheim and contacted Disney after learning that several of them had gone to the theme park.
According to the health agency, on Nov. 3 Disney reported that routine testing had detected elevated levels of Legionella in two cooling towers a month earlier, and the towers had been disinfected. Disney took the towers out of service on Nov. 1, performed more testing and disinfection, and brought them back into service on Nov. 5.
Disney took the towers out of service again on Tuesday in advance of an order the health agency issued the following day requiring they remain down until test results verify they are free from Legionella contamination.
The towers had been turned off on Nov. 1 before Disney learned that Legionella had been detected, Disneyland Resort spokeswoman Suzi Brown said. “The only reason they were turned back on was as part of the further disinfection process.”
The county health agency has also alerted healthcare providers to look out for Legionnaires’ disease in anyone who may have become ill after visiting Anaheim or Disneyland before Nov. 7.
It takes two to 10 days for symptoms of Legionnaires’ to appear.
The disease is caused by Legionella bacteria that grows in water and can spread when small droplets get into the air and people breathe them in, according to the CDC. Outbreaks are often traced to hot tubs, decorative fountains, cooling towers and large air-conditioning systems that emit water vapor into the air. Legionnaires’ is not spread person to person.
The illness can be treated with antibiotics and hospital care, but about one in 10 people who get Legionnaires’ disease dies from the infection. Most at risk are people over 50 with weakened immune systems or chronic lung diseases.
Orange County has recorded more than 55 cases of the disease this year and has seen the number of cases jump in recent years. A similar upward trend has been seen nationally and elsewhere in Southern California, according to the healthcare agency, though what’s causing that is unclear. If you have contracted Legionnaire’s Disease at DisneyLand please contact our DisneyLand injury lawyers to discuss your case.
Contact Our DisneyLand Injury Lawyers Today
Please do not wait to contact our Disneyland injury lawyers to find out more information about the type of benefits you may be awarded for your Disneyland accident. We can review your case and provide you with an estimate of the benefits you may be awarded as discussed above.
Again, it is important that you do not sign a settlement offer from Disneyland without first consulting an attorney. You may leave money on the table by doing so. Contact our Disneyland injury lawyers today for legal advice and guidance on how to best proceed in obtaining the compensation you deserve.