The New York tourist who broke his neck on a Volcano Bay water slide in 2019 has settled his lawsuit against Universal, ending the litigation that revealed other guests were getting hurt on the same ride before the theme park closed and revised it.
Court records indicate the lawsuit was resolved last month but don’t disclose the terms of the settlement. Universal and the injured man’s lawyer declined to comment Wednesday.
In September, Judge Kevin Judge Weiss ruled James Bowen was eligible for punitive damages since a jury could decide that Universal’s conduct “goes beyond ordinary negligence and quite possibly gross negligence.”
Bowen sued Universal in October 2019 after he was hurt on Punga Racers, a slide where people rode headfirst down mats, in July that year.
“It was the last day of their family vacation in Orlando as they were scheduled to return home to New York the following day. Sadly, however, their vacation ended in tragedy with Mr. Bowen admitted to the hospital, paralyzed from the neck down,” his Orange Circuit Court lawsuit said. “While riding the Punga Racers water slide, Mr. Bowen hit a wall of water as he exited the water slide into the wading pool that caused his neck to violently snap back, leaving him face down in the water and unable to move.”
Universal characterized Bowen’s injuries as “numbness” when self-reporting the incident to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which releases a public report on the most serious theme park injuries.
Since then, a department spokesman said the agency plans to talk with the theme parks in early 2021 about how to get more accurate information on visitor injuries.
Bowen’s legal fight with Universal led to court documents being filed that disclosed Punga Racers had a troubled history since Volcano Bay’s opening in 2017.
At least 115 visitors reported injuries ranging in severity from scrapes to nosebleeds, neck whiplash, and a concussion during about 13 months spread out in 2017 and 2019, according to Universal records included in the court filings.
Universal’s employees were uncomfortable with the ride, too.
Universal lifeguards were unwilling to test the ride, according to one internal email that was listed as evidence to be presented during the trial.
Bowen’s attorney, David Buckner, called Punga Racers a “physics problem.”
Heavier adults especially traveled too fast on the slide, passing through a wave of water at the finale and into a runoff that wasn’t built long enough to slow them down safely, he said.
“They are well aware of the problem at the highest levels,” Buckner said earlier this year. “Here’s the reality. …If they could not have figured out how to fix it, it was incumbent upon them to shut the ride down because they knew it was dangerous.”
Universal attorney Justin Kreindel argued in court that Universal wasn’t ignoring the problems and was actively trying to fix the slide.
Universal later placed a maximum weight restriction of 150 pounds on the slide. It finally closed Punga and reopened it this summer as a different ride where people go down feet-first and no longer use mats.
The lawsuit also revealed a financial dispute between Universal and the Punga’s manufacturer, Canadian-based ProSlide Technology, which had not been named in Bowen’s lawsuit.
Internal Universal emails from January were discussing Universal’s hesitancy to pay ProSlide.
A Jan. 23 email referenced a meeting with Universal Orlando Resort President Bill Davis “and design alternatives for Punga Racers and ProSlide’s refusal to accept $600K as complete payment for [the] balance owed on Volcano Bay debts.”
In court documents, Bowen’s attorney gave descriptions of the emails but did not include the actual document. They were part of his 392-page list of evidence to be presented at trial that listed internal memos, messages, test videos and other documents.
Several hundreds of pages of court filings in the lawsuit also are still under seal.
Universal still faces other lawsuits involving injuries at Volcano Bay.
ProSlide’s insurance company, Admiral, sued Universal and ProSlide in August, saying it wasn’t responsible for covering 73 injury claims at multiple Volcano Bay slides since the water park opened.
Out of those claims, at least nine people, including Bowen, have sued Universal, the Orlando Sentinel reported at the time.
“For them to have this many claims in a short period of time is troubling,” said Orlando attorney Varun Ramnarine, who represented a client suing Universal, told the Sentinel in the story. “It’s a brand-new water park.”
“Not every injury results in a claim … These are just the claims that are reported. Who is to know about the stuff that doesn’t get reported?”
Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said previously more than 1.5 million people have ridden Punga Racers and defended the park’s safety record.
“We take every injury seriously and have a safety-first culture that places the safety of our guests and team members above everything else. When there is an injury of any kind, we immediately begin an investigation and review,” he said in a statement in August. “Our process is rigorous and detailed and there are often many opinions as we arrive at a conclusion or work to resolve an issue. We are confident in our process and in the safety of our rides.”
After he was hurt, 47-year-old Bowen underwent surgery and months of rehabilitation to relearn how to walk again. Bowen works as the director of worldwide services at Squarespace, a New York City-based software company.
Buckner said his client still struggles with health problems.
“I don’t think that’s ever going to go away,” Buckner said last year.
grusson@orlandosentinel.com
