We’ve got an update to the trip and fall case filed late last year, where a guest is suing Walt Disney World after allegedly sustaining injuries after tripping on the Main Street USA trolley tracks. Walt Disney World has filed an answer to the complaint, along with affirmative defenses, where they say that the guest was negligent. Here’s the latest.
Main Street Trolley Tracks Lawsuit: Disney Says Guest at Fault
The lawsuit was filed by Kentucky resident Rhonda Smith against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. The lawsuit alleges that Smith tripped and fell, sustaining serious injuries, after their foot got caught in or around the trolley tracks that run the length of Main Street USA.
The lawsuit claims that the incident took place around 5pm on October 24th. The lawsuit notes that the pedestrian walkway included embedded steel rails for the trolley to navigate. The lawsuit says that the rails cause changes in level, edges, and gaps where the rail meets the surrounding ground.
The lawsuit alleges that “the area lacked adequate contrast warnings, guardrails, cones, stanchions, or other measures necessary to protect guests” from what it calls “tripping hazards” associated with the embedded track.
The lawsuit says that the safety measures were not present “during nighttime crowd conditions and parade operations”. Sunset on October 24th in the Walt Disney World area was some 1 hour and 45 minutes after the alleged incident.
The lawsuit said that Smith was navigating the area when their foot was caught on or in the embedded track/adjacent paver interface. This caused Smith to “trip and fall and sustain serious injuries”. The lawsuit goes on to cover the injuries suffered, which are pretty standard for trip and fall cases and don’t necessarily shine a light on the specific injuries that Smith allegedly sustained.
Smith is suing Walt Disney World for more than $50,000 as a result of the trip and fall on the Main Street USA trolley tracks.
Where this trip and fall is different than the typical trip and fall cases that Walt Disney World faces on a weekly basis is that the hazard here doesn’t specifically appear to be just bad concrete. While bad concrete could be to blame here (along with a litany of other reasons), the lawsuit does, at times, blame the track itself.
WALT DISNEY WORLD RESPONDS
In its response, Disney calls the tracks “open and obvious” and goes on to call the plaintiff, Rhonda Smith, negligent. Disney says that Smith “owed a duty to use reasonable care for her own safety” and that she “breached her duty by failing to pay adequate attention to her surroundings”.
Walt Disney World reasserts that the conditions described in the lawsuit were “open and obvious” to the plaintiff, barring any recovery for any alleged injuries, and obviating any duty of Walt Disney World to warn the plaintiff of the conditions. That is, the tracks are obvious, and signage isn’t necessary to tell guests that the tracks are present.
Walt Disney World has asked for a trial by jury. Standing case management has a trial date of November 22, 2027, at the Orange County Courthouse.
We’ll close out with a bit of commentary. First, the obvious. Who among us hasn’t had a shaky encounter with the trolley tracks at one time or another?
I know I’ve seen countless stroller wheels get stuck, and, on occasion, dump a child or two after an abrupt stop. I’ve seen ankles tested (sometimes my own) after a misstep or not fully paying attention to the pavement under my feet.
That said, the trolley tracks play less of a role in the post-COVID operations of Main Street USA, and they spend most of their time as a hazard. Yes, there is the occasional horse-pulled trolley that makes its way from Town Square to Cinderella Castle and back, but other than that, Disney has cut the Trolley Show that used to be performed multiple times per day.
On top of that, the trolley tracks not only serve as a hazard to guests, but also to parade performers. Listen, I would hate to see the tracks be removed, but I’m sure that there has been at least one lawyer in the expansive stable of lawyers that Disney has who has asked why the tracks can’t be removed.
Disney’s affirmative defense is an obvious response from a company that needs to defend itself. That said, could it also stand to reason that if Disney is defending the presence of the “open and obvious” trolley tracks that it has no plans to remove them? We hope that’s the case, but only time will tell.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
I don’t like safety for ‘safety’s sake’ in most cases, but having such a trip an fall hazard in one of the most pedestrian dense places in the world is absolutely bonkers. Perhaps if one could actually see the tracks 100% of the time it would be ‘obvious’, but often main street is so dense with people one can’t even see their feet. Both my wife and I nearly put an ankle out a couple times during our last trip to Disneyland on said tracks.
Honestly, it’s impressive and head scratching how they tracks have managed to last this long considering how litigious the United States has been going on a few decades now.
I go to disney in Orlando alot. Just because you are to caught up in whatever doenst mean you dont know they are there. Thats like cause its road is crowded and can’t see the ice i shouldn’t be pay more attention what im doing. I push a wheelchair all day at disney I’ve gotten stuck a couple of times but it was because I wasn’t fully paying attention to how I went over the track.
As a former pass holder and a former cast member the tracks are plain as day you know they are there watch where your going and pay attention. This isn’t directed at you as it sounds like you pay attention, but the tracks have been around in the Disneyland park since 1955
I’m not a fan of frivolous lawsuits. But this doesn’t sound frivolous, this is a known issue. Disney needs to accept that these tracks are not obvious, they are camouflaged into the dark gray concrete of the street. And by not using them functionally much, that further lowers awareness (a slight hazard in constant, visible, well-known use is different). They need to do what they’ve done on other Main Streets and surround the tracks in brick to offer a chromatic and textural difference/warning. That will warn people even walking in crowds or at night and it will cause stroller pushers and other wheeled vehicles to stay to one side or another.
Everything at Disney is a potential “hazard”. Everything inside and outside of my house is a potential “hazard”. Every company in the USA is being sued for something. Life is full of “hazards”, it’s just a matter of how long you can last. Sick of the lawsuit mentality in this country.
The tracks are obvious to anyone paying any attention at all. This is a frivolous attempt to scam money from Disney.