Universal Orlando has settled a lawsuit with a Brazilian tourist who said her 11-year-old son’s foot was crushed on the theme park’s E.T. Adventure ride in 2019.
The legal battle began in February 2019 after Roberta Perez claimed unsafe ride conditions led her son Tiago’s foot to get stuck between the ride vehicle and an offloading area at the ride’s end during a visit on Jan. 31, 2019.
Tiago broke several bones in his toes, foot and leg in a bloody scene, lawyer Ed Normand said following the accident. His mother and lawyers say it left Tiago with permanent injuries that required orthopedic surgery and caused him to be held back a grade in school.
The case is one of several highlighted in a 2020 Orlando Sentinel investigation into Florida’s ride injury reporting system, which found that major theme parks’ accounts of ride-related guest injuries can be vague and inaccurate. The state’s records show Universal described Tiago’s injury as “foot pain.”
Universal denied the family’s allegations in court. In documents filed in late 2019, the company claimed Tiago injured himself by being negligent and his parents failed to “properly monitor” him on the ride.
Court records show Universal was ordered to pay an annuity to Tiago through a life insurance company, but the specific amount was not disclosed, and the rest of the settlement is confidential. The case was dismissed by the court on Jan. 12.
Normand, Perez’s lawyer, declined to comment on the settlement Wednesday. Universal did not respond to a request for comment.
The E.T. Adventure ride seats guests on suspended vehicles designed to look like fleets of flying bicycles from the 1982 film. According to Normand and court documents, Tiago’s feet were inside the vehicle but dangled off the bike’s pedals.
The lawsuit noted that neither the boy nor his mother could read warning signs posted at the ride’s entrance because they speak Portuguese, not English. Court records show Universal said it offers park maps in Portuguese that translate warning signs around the park, including one at E.T. Adventure advising guests to keep their arms and legs inside the ride vehicle.
In previous interviews with the Orlando Sentinel, Normand advocated for the strengthening of Florida’s ride injury reporting agreement with its major theme parks. He said the vagueness of the reports perpetuates “such dishonesty.”
State law allows theme parks with more than 1,000 full-time employees and their own safety inspectors to forgo yearly state inspections by filing an affidavit asserting their rides comply with regulations.
Under a separate, voluntary agreement with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, large theme parks file reports every time a guest is injured on a ride and needs to be hospitalized for at least 24 hours. The state releases thpse reports every three months.
Former Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried’s office said it would review this agreement with the theme parks following the Orlando Sentinel investigation, but a 2022 analysis found no changes were made.
In June, Fried’s office said it does not have the power to change the agreement unilaterally and lawmakers would have to propose legislation to change its terms.
“If their point is, “Well, we do a great job in keeping our parks and our rides safe for our guests,’ then why not let someone confirm that?” Normand said at the time.
