Seeing ‘Bad Faith’ by Disney, Judge Awaits Injury Data
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge, scolding the Walt Disney Co. for “willful bad faith,” has set a June 25 deadline for the company to turn over a list of patrons who have suffered brain hemorrhages after riding on park attractions.
Judge Madeleine Flier imposed a $2,500 fine on the company May 25, accusing Disney of repeatedly hindering release of the information. It is the second time Disney has been sanctioned in this case for failing to provide adequate information.
Disney had been ordered to turn over a detailed list as part of a civil suit filed by former San Diego resident Deborah Bynum, 46, who says she suffered a brain hemorrhage after riding on Disneyland’s Indiana Jones Adventure, an attraction that simulates a rambunctious off-road ride.
“I feel like Indiana Jones having to pick through the rooms to try to find the hidden treasure,” said Beverly Hills attorney Barry Novack, who represents Bynum. “It’s not easy. . . . Disney does not want the general public to know that serious injuries--including brain injuries and death--occur on their attractions.”
Disney gave Novack a list, with few details, of eight reports of brain hemorrhaging on rides--seven at Disneyland and one at Disney World. Novack said those numbers differ from his own research. And the company said it has received 313 reports of various other injuries on the Indiana Jones Adventure in recent years.
Disneyland spokesman Ray Gomez conceded that the list of its own seven incidents was incomplete, saying the company relied on computer searches of claims made at the theme parks in Anaheim and Orlando. He said computer coding errors were to blame for the oversights.
Now, Gomez said, Disney is conducting a more comprehensive search. “We are manually reviewing all our documents to ensure that there are no others that were miscoded.”
Safety advocates and doctors are focusing on ride-related brain injuries after a 28-year-old woman suffered a fatal aneurysm burst while on the Goliath roller coaster at Magic Mountain last weekend.
Most safety advocates agree that brain injuries caused by roller coasters are greatly underreported, in part because the effects may not be immediate and are not caused by a ride malfunction or crash. More than 20 incidents--about half clustered in the late 1990s--have been documented in medical journals, although other doctors and attorneys said they know of dozens more ride-related brain injuries.
“There is no question that this is an underreported problem,” said David Moulton, chief of staff for Rep. Edward J. Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat who is calling for federal oversight of amusement parks. “We do not have a reliable way of keeping track of it.”
Bynum’s suit alleges that Disney designers “pushed the envelope for thrills” when they made the ride and allow it to continue operating despite knowledge of brain and other serious injuries.
Data Were First Sought 10 Months Ago
Bynum says she developed a throbbing headache about an hour after riding the Indiana Jones Adventure in November 1998. The headache worsened and, four days later, she passed out twice. The second time, she called 911 and was taken to the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, where she was diagnosed with a hemorrhage and underwent brain surgery. Her lawsuit alleges that she suffers cognitive difficulties, including the inability to think clearly and juggle tasks.
Novack first asked Disney 10 months ago for a complete list of incidents in which riders suffered brain hemorrhages at any of its theme parks. In February, the judge sanctioned Disney $1,523 for failing to provide the information.
After the first sanction, Novack says in court records, Disney attorney Norine Busser wrote a letter dated April 30 saying that she had not turned over the information because she was “in the process of determining if Walt Disney World Co. owns any amusement parks other than Disneyland.”
Disney later provided the list of eight incidents, but Judge Flier issued the second sanction for $2,500 in May, calling Disney’s responses “too equivocal” and “very unimpressive.”
“There must be an effort to look up what it is that you’re being asked to look up,” Flier said. “The violations are clearly in violation of the order and they seem to be ongoing.”
This is not the first time Disney has been fined for stalling efforts to obtain documents. Novack filed a similar lawsuit in 1996 on behalf of Zipora Jacob, who said she suffered a brain hemorrhage while riding the Indiana Jones Adventure. That case was settled for an undisclosed amount in 1999, but Disney was sanctioned $7,050 before ultimately turning over company records.
Bynum’s suit is scheduled for trial in August and asks for punitive damages as well as reimbursement of medical expenses. Because the case is in litigation, Disney officials said they do not believe it is appropriate to comment on any of the specifics.
