TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A family was awarded an $8.15 million verdict in a lawsuit against Busch Gardens Tampa Bay after a child sustained injuries at the theme park.
In September 2022, the child was at a Howl-O-Scream event. According to Morgan & Morgan attorneys Paul Fulmer, Grant Gillenwater, Bora Kayan and Megan Tiralosi, the amusement park left the doors to the Stanleyville Theater doors unlocked and unattended.
The child went inside, onto the stage and the acrobatic trampoline. The attorneys said he fell off the trampoline and suffered blunt force trauma that lacerated his chin, liver, and right kidney, which resulted in the loss of his kidney function.
“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 Fulmer said. “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.”
A Hillsborough County jury awarded the victim’s family the $8,154,350.75 verdict for his injuries, after declining the theme park’s pre-trial settlement offer of $40,000.
The jury found the family was subjected to comparative fault, contributing 35% to the victim’s injuries, resulting in a final verdict of $5,300,328, according to the law firm.