2004 Disneyland Accident Injured Family, Lawsuit Says

A Colorado family has sued the Walt Disney World Co. for injuries suffered in a 2004 accident on Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, their lawyer said Monday.

Gerald and Norika Cope of Telluride, Colo., filed the lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court on Thursday on behalf of themselves and their two children, Noelle, 8, and Christopher, 6, said Christopher R. Aitken, a lawyer in Santa Ana.

The accident occurred July 8, 2004, when, in what park officials described as a “bump,” two trains “made contact” as one returned to the loading station.

State investigators attributed the incident, just months after the ride had reopened following an accident that killed a passenger, to a software glitch and mistakes by an inexperienced operator.

In their lawsuit, the family says Gerald Cope suffered a major back injury requiring surgery, was incapacitated for several months and, Aitken said, had to sell a jewelry business he could no longer maintain.

Other family members, the suit contends, suffered bruises as well as “severe and permanent mental pain” that has caused them to live “in a constant state of emotional tension.”

The lawsuit does not specify an amount sought as compensation.

Rob Doughty, a Disneyland spokesman, read a statement that said, “We have repeatedly asked Mr. Cope for background information so we can evaluate his claim -- and we have yet to receive it.”