Disney Settles Indiana Jones "Death Ride" Suit

A 23-year-old Spanish woman died two months after sustaining a brain hemorrhage triggered by the Indiana Jones Adventure ride at Disneyland in California.

Her heirs filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Disney in 2001, seeking in excess of $1 million in damages. The suit alleged that Disney was fully aware that the "excessive forces generated by the ride, especially shaking could cause serious injuries to riders." It also claimed the ride could induce internal bleeding in the brain akin to "shaken-baby syndrome." In fact, the attorney for the Moreno family has handled two other cases involving brain injuries to passengers on the same Disney ride, both successfully settled out of court. Just a week before the trial was set to begin, Disney reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount with the Moreno family. Though Disney has never admited responsibility in any of the three cases, in 2002 it did make changes to the ride to make it more reliable and durable. It denies it was for safety reasons. In my opinion, when there are three such similar cases, you cannot deny there were issues of safety with this ride. Those issues should have been addressed the first time someone suffered a brain injury, not the third.