$90,000 Awarded in Suit Over Theme Park Ride

A Northridge woman who hurt her neck when the Jurassic Park ride at Universal Studios Hollywood malfunctioned, jerking her back and forth in her seat, was awarded $90,000 in damages by a jury Monday.

Marcy Mintz, 45, was injured in July 1996, a month after the $110-million ride made its debut. Near the end of the ride, the boat stopped on a steep incline and jerked about a dozen times, her attorney, William Koontz, said. She felt pain in her neck, and the pain did not go away until she had corrective surgery this year, he said.

Eliot Sekuler, director of publicity for Universal Studios Hollywood, said the park does not discuss litigation and declined comment on this case specifically.

In court papers, the theme park cited among its defenses that Mintz took the ride at her own risk and that she was injured by her own carelessness.

Koontz said Universal lawyers had argued during the weeklong trial that Mintz had hurt her neck in some other way.

“They admitted that the ride malfunctioned and it was their fault, but they argued that this malfunction couldn’t have caused this injury,” Koontz said.

By a vote of 9-3, the jury disagreed.

The Jurassic Park ride had a rocky start in the summer of 1996. It suffered mechanical problems at first, prompting the theme park to shut it down temporarily. Less than two weeks later, it malfunctioned again, spraying hydraulic fluid on more than 100 people, four of whom were treated for injuries at a local hospital.

Sekuler, the Universal spokesman, said that those early problems have been corrected.

“The safety of our guests is our No. 1 priority,” he said.