You would think that you wouldn’t be able to sue a place because of an act of nature, especially when it involves birds. However, Disney is now being sued because they couldn’t control a seasonal nesting bird.
Lisa Dixon is the plaintiff in the new lawsuit that Disney is now faced with. According to the lawsuit, Dixon was severely injured in May of 2017 when a bird flew into her head at Disney’s Polynesian Village. The lawsuit states that she suffered a brain injury over the accident.
According to The Orlando Sentinel, she and her lawyer are looking to collect $15,000 for damages due to the incident. The lawsuit claims that Disney was well aware that there could be physical threats from the seasonal nesting birds. The lawsuit was filed in Orange Circuit Court just last week.
Thomas Schmitt, Dixon’s attorney, claims that his client will need to have surgery because of the brain injuries she suffered in the park. He also claims that the incident has had a very negative impact on her career and her personal life.
The attack happened as Dixon was walking along a dock at Walt Disney World Resort. Schmitt said that the bird “dive-bombed” his client, leaving her with herniated discs in her neck and a traumatic brain injury. He stated that the force of this particular bird made Dixon feel as though she had been struck with a baseball.
Disney offers visitors the chance to take a boat ride after walking across the dock at the Polynesian Village Resort. The boat will take then across the Seven Seas Lagoon to another resort or to the Magic Kingdom. The lawsuit in question is accusing Disney of failing to keep the dock safe, as well as failing to give proper warning to others concerning the birds. The lawsuit also accuses Disney of giving the plaintiff a “false sense of security” while in the park.
Schmitt remarked that Disney should be well-versed in safety. While they were not able to identify the kind of bird that struck Dixon, they do know it was a seasonal migrating bird.
Dixon is originally from the Midwest. She is currently living in the town of Celebration in order to help manage an investment property. According to Schmitt, the injury has changed her life. She is unable to focus and her personality has become different, according to the lawsuit.
This is not the first animal-related lawsuit that Disney has had to deal with. In 2016 an Alabama family sued the park for their grandmother’s death. The lawsuit claimed that their grandmother died from a heart attack when a snake fell from a tree in the park and bit her great-grandson. The incident occurred in Animal Kingdom.
A spokeswoman for Disney was reached on Tuesday for comment. She said that Disney will go to court to respond to these allegations.