New Disney Signs Will Warn About Alligators After Boy's Death
June 16 2016 - 7:25PM
Dow Jones News
By Erich Schwartzel And Sara Randazzo
Walt Disney Co. will install signs warning theme-park guests of
alligators in the area after a 2-year-old boy was snatched and
killed by one of the animals at the company's Orlando, Fla.,
resort, according to a person familiar with the matter.
In Florida, where alligators frequently pop up in swimming pools
and other places that aren't their natural habitat, many beaches,
golf courses and other public areas feature warnings about the
animals. Signs posted near the spot where the boy was taken on
Tuesday evening said only that swimming wasn't allowed, without
mentioning alligators.
Walt Disney World has shut down its beaches since the attack,
and on Thursday said it was considering further changes. "We are
conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and
protocols," the company said. "This includes the number, placement
and wording of our signage and warnings."
Disney has "a responsibility to protect their guests from
foreseeable -- that's the critical word -- risk or harm," said John
Nockleby, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Given
the vague nature of Disney's no-swimming signs, Mr. Nockleby added,
"it's a pretty strong case of liability."
Lane Graves of Elkhorn, Neb., was wading in a man-made lake near
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa when the predator
attacked and dragged him into the water. Rescue divers searching
the Seven Seas Lagoon found his body in the water about 17 hours
later.
With millions of annual visitors and often deep-pocketed
ownership, theme parks tend to attract all kinds of lawsuits --
some of which are immediately dismissed and others that have
lasting implications for the way they do business. Previous
incidents on Disney property have resulted in lawsuits.
After a boy was critically injured on Disneyland's Roger
Rabbit's Car Toon Spin ride in 2000, the park changed its policy
and told employees to immediately call 911 in an emergency, rather
than first contact a communications hub at the park that then
notified authorities. Disney settled a lawsuit brought by the
family of the boy, who died eight years later.
Disney has reached confidential settlements in other
wrongful-death suits, including one stemming from a 1998 accident
on Disneyland's Sailing Ship Columbia attraction that left one man
dead and his wife severely injured; and a 2003 incident in which a
man died on Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller
coaster.
Companies facing high-profile incidents on their property try to
settle quickly and confidentially, Mr. Nockleby said. Among other
benefits, that can limit the amount of time the incident remains in
the news.
Dragging it out into what could be a yearslong court proceeding
or trial could "scare everybody in the country, who will think,
'I'm not going to a Disney resort,'" Mr. Nockleby said. "That's the
real cost of this."
Write to Erich Schwartzel at erich.schwartzel@wsj.com and Sara
Randazzo at sara.randazzo@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 16, 2016 19:10 ET (23:10 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024