Attorneys Rob Blank and Carie Hall of the firm’s Tampa office obtained a defense verdict for Busch Gardens in Hillsborough County, Florida in the case styled Alisa R. Kenney v. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment LLC d/b/a Busch Gardens Tampa. Plaintiff claimed she received a laceration to her foot resulting in a nerve injury and an aggravation of a preexisting back injury when she fell exiting the SheiKra roller coaster. Blank and Hall proved there was no defect in the design of the exit area at SheiKra. The jury found no negligence, returning a verdict in Busch Gardens’ favor on December 1, 2017. Busch Gardens will be pursuing its fees and costs from Plaintiff.

Attorneys Rob Blank and Carie Hall of the firm’s Tampa office obtained a defense verdict in a negligence case in Orange County, Florida in October of 2017. Blank and Hall represented the Sea World park located in Orlando, Florida in the case styled Glenda Torres Perez v. Sea World of Florida LLC. The plaintiff claimed she fractured her ankle and injured her back going down the stairs in the Manta rollercoaster queue line. Blank and Hall proved there was no defect in the stairs, no problem with the lighting in the staircase and nothing wrong with the procedures for operating the queue at Manta. The jury found no negligence, returning a verdict in Sea World’s favor on October 27, 2017. Sea World will be pursuing its fees and costs from Plaintiff.

Attorneys Rob Blank and Carie Hall of the firm’s Tampa office obtained a defense verdict in a negligence case in Orange County, Florida in January of 2015. Blank and Hall represented the Sea World park located in Orlando, Florida in the case styled Hope Estrada v. Sea World of Florida LLC d/b/a Sea World. The plaintiff claimed she was injured when she slipped on green slime in the Manta Aquarium while on a field trip with her son’s school. Sea World proved there was no green slime on the floor and that the floor of the aquarium exceeded slip resistance standards. The jury found no negligence, returning a verdict in Sea World’s favor.

Attorneys Rob Blank and Carie Hall of the firm’s Tampa office obtained a favorable verdict in a negligence case in Hillsborough County, Florida in April of 2014. Blank and Hall represented Busch Gardens, a theme park located in Tampa, in the case styled Rafael Ramos-Lopez v. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment LLC d/b/a Busch Gardens. The plaintiff claimed he was injured when an actor struck him in the leg with a steel barrel while performing a scare at Howl-O-Scream, a Halloween-themed event. Busch Gardens denied the actor was negligent and denied the back and neck injuries claimed by the plaintiff were caused by the accident. The jury originally returned a verdict for plaintiff for only $274, which represented approximately 25% of the bill for his emergency room visit the night of the accident, despite a two-level back surgery and $130,274.46 in claimed medical expenses.  When instructed by the judge that they needed to also award some amount of non-economic damages, the jury determined plaintiff was only entitled to $1 for past pain and suffering and $1 for future pain and suffering, making the total verdict $276.  Busch Gardens has moved for its attorneys’ fees pursuant to plaintiff’s rejection of Busch Gardens’ $10,000 proposal for settlement.

Attorneys Rob Blank and Carie Hall, of the firm’s Tampa office, obtained a mid-trial dismissal with prejudice in a negligence case in Hillsborough County, Florida in August of 2013. Blank and Hall represented Busch Gardens, a theme park located in Tampa, in a case in which the plaintiff alleged her minor son was injured on the Tanganyika Tidal Wave ride when he leaned outside the boat and cut his left cheek. Busch Gardens denied the Tidal Wave ride is unsafe and demonstrated that it provided adequate and appropriate written and verbal warnings to guests to remain sitting upright with their bodies inside the boat. The minor plaintiff failed to obey these warnings when he leaned his head over the side of the boat, and plaintiff was negligent for her failure to properly supervise her minor son while she was sitting next to him on the ride when he was injured. Plaintiffs dismissed the case with prejudice in the middle of trial.