Universal settles lawsuit after 11-year-old’s foot crushed on E.T. Adventure
Universal Orlando settled a lawsuit against a Brazilian tourist for saying her 11-year-old son’s foot was crushed on the theme park’s E.T. Adventure ride In 2019.
The legal battle began in February 2019 after Roberta Perez claimed unsafe ride conditions led her son Tiago’s foot to get stuck between the ride vehicle and an offloading area at the ride’s end during a visit on Jan. 31, 2019.
Tiago fractured several bones in his foot, leg, and toes in a bloody scene. Lawyer Ed Normand said following the accident. His lawyers and mother claim that Tiago suffered permanent injuries and needed orthopedic surgery. Tiago was therefore unable to receive a grade at school.
This case is just one of many highlighted in a 2020 Orlando Sentinel investigation into Florida’s ride injury reporting system, which found that major theme parks’ accounts of ride-related guest injuries can be vague and inaccurate. The state’s records show Universal described Tiago’s injury as “foot pain.”
Universal denied the family’s allegations in court. In documents filed in late 2019, the company claimed Tiago injured himself by being negligent and his parents failed to “properly monitor” him on the ride.
Court records indicate that Universal was ordered to pay Tiago annuity via a life insurance company. The exact amount was not disclosed and the remainder of the settlement remains confidential. Jan. 12 was the date that the court dismissed the case.
Normand, Perez’s lawyer, declined to comment on the settlement Wednesday. Universal didn’t respond to a request to comment.
The E.T. The E.T. Adventure Ride seats guests in suspended vehicles that resemble the fleets of flying bikes from 1982. According to Normand and court documents, Tiago’s feet were inside the vehicle but dangled off the bike’s pedals.
The lawsuit noted that neither the boy nor his mother could read warning signs posted at the ride’s entrance because they speak Portuguese, not English. Universal, according to court records, said that it provides park maps in Portuguese. These maps translate warning signs at the park’s entrances, including one at E.T. Adventure advises guests to keep their legs and arms inside the ride vehicle.
In previous interviews with the Orlando Sentinel, Normand advocated for the strengthening of Florida’s ride injury reporting agreement with its major theme parks. He expressed concern at the lack of clarity in the reports perpetuates “such dishonesty.”
State law allows the inspection of theme parks that employ more than 1,000 workers and have their own safety inspectors to be skipped annually by filing an affidavit proving their rides are in compliance with regulations.
A separate voluntary agreement was made with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Large theme parks are required to file reports whenever a guest is hurt while on a ride and has to be admitted for at most 24 hours. The state releases the reports once every three months.
Former Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried’s office said it would review this agreement with the theme parks Following the Orlando Sentinel investigation but 2022 analysis found no changes were made.
In June, Fried’s office said it does not have the power to change the agreement unilaterally and lawmakers would have to propose legislation to change its terms.
“If their point is, “Well, we do a great job in keeping our parks and our rides safe for our guests,’ then why not let someone confirm that?” Normand said at the time.