A Florida jury has handed down a $310m verdict to the heirs of Tyre Sampson, a 14-year-old who died after falling off a ride at an Orlando amusement park about two years ago, his family’s attorneys said.
“This verdict is a step forward in holding corporations accountable for the safety of their products. The jury’s decision confirms what we have long argued: Tyre’s death was the result of blatant negligence and a failure to prioritize safety over profits,” attorneys Ben Crump and Natalie Jackson said in a statement after the Thursday decision.
They added: “The ride’s manufacturers neglected their duty to protect passengers, and today’s outcome ensures they face the consequences of those decisions.”
The Missouri teen died while visiting Icon Park on a spring break trip with his football team, NBC News said. Sampson plummeted at least 100ft to the ground after slipping out of his seat on the 400ft-tall ride.
The free-fall ride did not have seat belts, according to his family’s civil action. Sampson, who weighed 383lbs, which exceeded the ride’s 285lb weight limit, suffered fatal internal injuries from the fall, the outlet said.
After approximately an hour of deliberations, Orange county jurors reached their verdict against Funtime Handels GmbH, the Austrian company which manufactured the ride, according to NBC News. Funtime Handels did not send a company representative to court, and the manufacturer reportedly did not have a lawyer listed in court filings.
Sampson’s mother and father will receive equal portions of the verdict. The family previously agreed to an undisclosed settlement with Icon Park and ride owner Eagle Drop Slingshot, which were also defendants in their wrongful death lawsuit, the outlet said.
The free-fall ride has since been disassembled. Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, greenlighted the Tyre Sampson Act in May 2023 to bolster safety requirements for amusement park attractions, the outlet said.
“We hope this case serves as a wake-up call for the entire industry to implement stricter safety measures and oversight to prevent such tragedies from happening again. Tyre’s legacy will be a safer future for riders everywhere,” the family’s attorneys also said.
The theme park industry has claimed that the rate of serious industry or death at US amusement parks is about one in 15.5m rides taken, USA Today said. A 2021 National Safety Council report for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions identified 130 serious ride-related injuries and deaths in 2021, the newspaper reported.
