Miami Resort Injury Lawyer Blog

Walt Disney World usually only conjures positive emotions. Mickey Mouse and Disney resorts have provided families throughout the globe with a destination that guarantees wholesome family fun. Over the decades, countless parents have brought their young children to Disney parks and resorts and returned home with happy memories.

Unfortunately, the Brubaker family is not one of those countless families with happy memories of Walt Disney World after their 9 year-old child died in a collision with a Walt Disney World bus.

In April 2010, Brubaker was riding his bicycle in Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. He was heading southbound on Big Pine Road wearing a safety helmet and riding on the sidewalk. At the same time, a Disney bus driven by David R. Rich was traveling in the same direction. After hitting the side of the bus, the child was pulled under the rear wheels of the bicycle and subsequently died.

Presently, the Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Brubaker's mother has filed a wrongful death suit against Walt Disney Parks, Resorts U.S., and the bus driver. A Florida Highway Patrol report, however, stated the accident was caused because Brubaker's bicycle was in an unsafe condition due to flat bicycle tire. Nevertheless, the lawsuit blames sidewalk conditions and Disney's bus system for the fatality.

According to the complaint, pedestrians must regularly step off the sidewalk and onto the roadway or an unpaved area to avoid other cyclists and pedestrians. Due to railings and steep gullies, resort visitors are prevented from stepping toward the interior of the park when trying to pass others. The complaint further states that as a result of these conditions "contact between a pedestrian and a bus or vehicle was reasonably foreseeable to occur and therefore cause serious injury or death to the pedestrian."