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A shoulder harness that allegedly failed to close properly on California Screamin' at Disney's California Adventure caused whiplash and a neurological disorder to a Milwaukee surgeon, forcing him to stop his practice because of pain, his attorney said Tuesday. Disney's attorney says the man's injuries likely stem from a car crash, not the ride. The surgeon's attorney counters that the restraint was not maintained properly.
Read more from The LA Times.
Personally, I would blame Eisner :-p
I'm not acquainted with all the facts of the case here, but something doesn't appear right: apart from the very valid points made by Jeff, Danimales and Bigkirby, I would have thought that there would be warning lights to indicate that a restraint wasn't closed; maybe a mechanism to prevent a train from being dispatched without a restraint being closed. Also, why didn't the man bring this to the attention of the ride ops before being dispatched. Would anyone with an ounce of sense leave the station of a coaster with their restraint around their head without a huge fuss???
I'm sure there is some CCTV station footage that'll settle the matter once and for all. The gentleman being involved in a car accident cetainly seems to put a twist on the procedings. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds, but it does look a bit dodgy, to say the least. Here's a thought, I wonder if he/or any other parties involved in the accident had adequate insurance?
And unless it was stuck (I'm not sure if thats what he is arguing or not), couldn't he have simply pulled the restraint down himself?
His arguments just seem a little less than belivable, IMO.
I don't know anything about the ride, but that may not be the case. I know that all of the Intamin hypers I've seen have no dispatch-disabling mechanism to guard against dispatching with the restraints up because I've seen them run with open restraints. Judging by the constant "recheck restraint" instances I see on impulses, I'm guessing that maybe those do check the restraint positions and disable dispatch.
I would have thought that there would be warning lights to indicate that a restraint wasn't closed.
Plaintiff suing defendant for an accident that caused major mouth damage. Defendent claiming no fault. The defending lawyers brought up a previous accident where the plaintiff put his car into a ditch, coincidentally, two blocks from where I lived. The plaintiff claimed the ditch was only 2 ft deep (it's 12 feet deep at least) and they had police photos which set the light off in my memory. I'd SEEN that car head first in the ditch. No way the guy would have walked away from it without damage. The judge threw that testimony out. So it could not be considered in our decision. I knew the guy was lying, but couldn't say a word.
If the testimony of the previous accident is deemed not related, the jury, legally, cannot consider it in their deliberations.
I just hope to God that this surgeon does not win this case. There are just too many things that I know (as an enthusiast) that tell me he's full-o-crap. Intamin restraints CAN come down further after a dispatch, but not up. Disney always checks restraints, I have never gone unchecked on any ride at any time at any Disney park. Also, Cal Screamin is such a smooth ride, it seems impossible to have been able to cause such debilitating and life-long pain.
In addition to there being 4 ops at all times there are cameras between the load zone and the launch...lets see the tape! I mean seriously, someone watching the launch would have seen if a restraint was up. Also I have never seen a Disney ride where they leave a restraint up...even if the seat is empty...this guy just wants the money!
I know this is off topic, but one of the really cool things about Cali Scream is the fact that those dispatch panels can swivel making it easier for the op to pay attention to the panel from different directions!
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