A New York man has filed a lawsuit claiming he broke his neck while riding a water slide at Universal Orlando’s Volcano Bay water theme park during a family vacation in July, according to Click Orlando.
- The lawsuit claims that the man’s neck snapped while riding the Punga Racers water slide, causing a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed.
- The lawsuit was filed in Orange County earlier this month and alleges the man was riding the slide with his 15-, 13-, and 7-year-old daughters.
- According to attorneys, the man followed the instructions of the Volcano Bay employees to lie with his stomach on the mat provided and slide headfirst.
- The man hit a wall of water when sliding into the wading pool at the bottom of the slide, causing his head to snap back violently, according to the lawsuit.
- The man was left facedown in the water after that impact allegedly caused a compression injury to the man’s spine.
- The man was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center where he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat and a severe spinal cord compression along the C3 to C7 vertebrae that left him almost completely paralyzed.
- He underwent surgery on July 16, during which surgeons removed part of his vertebrae and installed screws and rods to partially fuse a section of his spinal column, leaving him in a quadrapalegic state when he woke up.
- He stayed in the hospital to receive rehabilitative care until August 8, at which point he had regained minimal sensitivity, strength and motion in his limbs.
- According to the lawsuit, the man weight 215 pounds at the time when he was injured and Universal has since changed the weight limit for Punga Racers to 150 pounds.
- The lawsuit claims Universal was negligent by failing to maintain and inspect the ride, failing to supervise riders and failing to warn visitors about the potential dangers.
- Universal has not yet commented on the lawsuit.