According to PEOPLE Walt Disney World is being hit with a splash of legal drama — and it all started with a water slide gone wrong.
Eugene Strickland has filed a lawsuit against the theme park, claiming he suffered serious, lasting injuries while riding the Downhill Double Dipper at Blizzard Beach back in July 2021.
According to the complaint, things took a dangerous turn when Strickland reportedly went momentarily airborne and landed with what he describes as “permanent catastrophic injuries.”
Now, nearly four years later, he’s still feeling the effects — and he wants over $50,000 in damages.
At the time of the incident, Strickland weighed around 334 pounds, which the suit points out was over the ride’s posted 300-pound limit. It remains unclear whether he knew about the restriction before hopping on the slide, but one thing’s for sure — this case is making waves.
While on the water slide — which the Walt Disney World website describes as “side-by-side high-speed slides” — Strickland caught air thanks to the attraction’s design and “exhilarating speeds,” the complaint states.
This allegedly caused his inner tube to dislodge from beneath him and made him “land with force onto the hard plastic surface of the slide.”
As a result, Strickland claims he “suffered serious bodily injury and resulting pain and suffering, disability, scarring, disfigurement, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life,” according to the complaint.
Strickland argues that Walt Disney World was negligent and failed to maintain safe premises. He also claims that the theme park was aware of the “safety hazard” and “concealed trap” that led to his injuries.
The park, the complaint claims, had a responsibility to remedy — or least warn him of — the “dangerous conditions” of the attraction.
The case is scheduled for a jury trial beginning in May 2027, according to court documents viewed by PEOPLE.
In a statement to PEOPLE on behalf of Strickland, Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney Alberto Oliveri said:
“Our client was severely injured on a ride at Disney’s Blizzard Beach. He has filed a lawsuit alleging that it was the defendant’s lax safety measures and oversight that contributed to those injuries. We are pursuing justice for him and working to hold Disney accountable for their alleged negligence.”
