According to the New York Post, a New York mom of two is suing Disney for $2 million after she was injured at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon in April 2022.
Per the article, Kimberly Panetta was “violently struck by a sudden and forceful wave” while in the Typhoon Lagoon Surf Pool during an April 2022 visit.
Panetta claims that the “mammoth” wave drug herself and her 3-year-old daughter underwater for several feet. According to court documents, “the wave hit her from the side with such force, it pummeled her and her body skidded across the cement or gunite, causing serious ‘road rash’ or scrapes that were severe and deep.”
Both Panetta and her husband Frank, a lawyer, said their young daughter could have been seriously injured if not for her quick thinking to push her above the water.
In the legal filing, Panetta details her experience, stating that their trip “was ruined” and that she “was stuck limping around applying bandages, salves and creams and was forced to avoid swimming and enjoying planned visits to the parks” due to cuts and scrapes on her legs.
Frank Panetta says that “Disney offered nothing but a measly $250 credit” after the incident.
This is not the first lawsuit filed as a result of a Typhoon Lagoon-related injury. In May of 2024, Laura Reyes-Merino “went tubing on the Humunga Kowabunga ride but at some point went unconscious after banging inside the ride.” Humunga Kowabunga is a 214-foot-long body slide that does not use tubes. This lawsuit claimed that Walt Disney World failed “to warn of any dangerous conditions about which it knew or should have known about” on the Humunga Kowabunga waterslide at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon.
This lawsuit came on the heels of one filed by Emma and Edward McGuinness against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts over a 2019 incident in which Emma McGuinness suffered a “painful wedgie” on the same slide.
Source: New York Post
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