ORLANDO, Fla. (Legal Newsline) — A couple blame Disney for the wedgie and injuries the wife suffered on a water slide and have filed a lawsuit in Florida state court.
Emma McGuinness and Edward McGuinness filed a complaint Sept. 27 in Orange County Circuit Court against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc., doing business as Typhoon Lagoon, alleging negligence.
The plaintiffs, according to their complaint, were at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon in Orlando in October of 2019. They claim Emma McGuinness and her daughter rode the "Humunga Kowabunga" water slide and that McGuinness, who was wearing a one-piece swimsuit, "assumed the appropriate position" as she traveled down the slide and into a pool of water about 214 feet below.
The plaintiffs allege that McGuinness' body lifted up as she neared the end of the slide and became airborne. They claim due to the impact McGuinness experienced while coming into the standing water at the bottom of the slide, she suffered severe vaginal lacerations with blood rushing from between her legs. They further claim Disney failed to warn of the dangers and claim Disney's negligence in the design and operation of the slide.
"Specifically, when a rider of The Slide reached the bottom of the ride and traveled into the pool of water designed to stop further travel, the force of the water can push loose garments into a person's anatomy - an event known as a 'wedgie,'" the suit says.
"Because of a woman's anatomy, the risk of a painful 'wedgie' is more common and more serious than it is for a man."
The plaintiffs seek monetary relief, interest and all other just relief. They are represented by Alan Wagner of Wagner, McLaughlin & Whitemore PA in Tampa.
Orange County Circuit Court case number 182751798