LOS ANGELES — A Utah couple who said they were among nine people injured on a Disneyland roller coaster last year have sued the amusement park, claiming it tried to conceal the accident's seriousness from investigators.
Jonathan and Julie Woodcock's lawsuit, filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accuses the amusement park of negligence and infliction of emotional distress. It seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages.
A spokesman for the Walt Disney Co. did not return phone calls placed Monday evening. However, spokesman Ray Gomez told The Orange County Register that Disneyland employees acted appropriately.
"Any emergency involving illness or injury to guest or cast members, our first priority is to get medical help to the scene as quickly as possible," he said.
Attorney Ryan Saba of Beverly Hills said the couple were at Disneyland on July 31, 2000, to celebrate Julie Woodcock's 40th birthday when they were injured on the Space Mountain roller coaster ride.
The accident happened when a wheel assembly broke on one of the cars, causing it to derail. Nine people suffered various neck and back injuries, and passengers were suspended on a track 40 feet in the air for up to 45 minutes before being rescued, the lawsuit said.
Jonathan Woodcock suffered 13 bulging disks, nerve damage in his back, a dislocated jaw, cracked teeth, a ripped rotator cuff and a joint disorder, the suit states. His wife suffered a collapsed arch in her foot; permanent damage to her knee, hip and shoulder; and two herniated disks.
The action says Disneyland may have hindered the arrival of prompt medical attention and either failed to report the accident or did not adequately relay its seriousness to state officials.