Busch Gardens to pay family $5 million for child’s ‘lifelong injuries,’ lawyers say
A jury ruled in a Florida family’s favor by returning a more than $8 million verdict against Busch Gardens Tampa Bay after they sued the amusement park over how their child was permanently injured from a fall during a Halloween festival, attorneys announced.
Busch Gardens’ negligence was the main cause of the 12-year-old boy’s injuries, the Hillsborough County jury decided, according to a verdict form dated Nov. 20.
The Tampa amusement park was accused of leaving the doors to the park’s Stanleyville theater unlocked during the Howl-O-Scream September 2022 Halloween event, when the child entered the theater and got on a stage and an acrobatic trampoline, according to Morgan & Morgan, which represented the family.
The boy fell off the trampoline, which was on the stage, and onto a metal object, the family’s lawsuit filed in March 2023 says.
This resulted in blunt force trauma and lacerations to his right kidney, chin and liver, according to Morgan & Morgan.
His kidney stopped functioning as a result, the firm said in a Nov. 25 news release.
The case resulted in the jury awarding the family a $8,154,350.75 verdict, according to the firm.
Busch Gardens is to pay the family $5,300,328 because the jury found the family was partly responsible for the boy’s injuries — but to a lesser degree, Morgan & Morgan said.
The amusement park and its attorney didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ requests for comment Nov. 26.
The jury decided that Busch Gardens was 65% liable and the plaintiffs were 35% liable, according to the verdict.
“A young child will now have to endure renal protective measures for the rest of his life, limiting what he can eat, what sports he can play, and what medications he can take,” Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney Paul Fulmer said in a statement.
“We are glad the jury was able to recognize the amusement park’s role in causing our client’s lifelong injuries and provided him with the justice he deserves,” Morgan and Fulmer said.
This story was originally published November 26, 2024 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Busch Gardens to pay family $5 million for child’s ‘lifelong injuries,’ lawyers say."
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