A jury in the US state of Florida has awarded $310 million (Rs 2,624 crore) to the family of a teenager who died after falling from the Free Fall Tower drop ride at Orlando’s ICON Park in 2022. Ty Sampson was only 14 years old when he fell 70 feet from a ride at the amusement park he was visiting on a spring break trip with his football team. The child’s parents, Nekia Dodd and Yarnell Sampson, will each receive $155 million (Rs 1,312 crore) from Funtime, the ride’s manufacturer, which has been held responsible for the fatal incident.
“This verdict is a step forward in holding corporations accountable for the safety of their products. The jury’s verdict confirms what we have long argued: Tire’s death was caused by gross negligence and prioritizing safety over profits.” was the result of the failure,” a statement said. The lawyer representing Tyre’s parents.
“The ride’s manufacturers neglected their duty of safety to passengers, and today’s outcome ensures that they will have to face the consequences of those decisions.”
The trial lasted only one day as Funtime failed to appear in court to defend itself. The family had already reached an undisclosed settlement with ICON Park. It now faces the challenge of collecting $310 million in damages from Funtime, which is based in Austria, and will need to seek a court order from an Austrian court to recover it.
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How did Tyr Sampson die?
A Missouri teen has fallen to his death after slipping from his seat on a 400-foot high ride. The free fall ride involved 30 riders being placed in seats attached to a tower, passengers were secured in shoulder harnesses and were then dropped 430 feet. Surprisingly, it did not have seat belts, which most drop rides have as an additional safety measure.
Mr Sampson also weighed 173 kg, which was over the ride’s 129 kg weight limit, but he was still allowed on the ride. Due to his size, the harness did not lock properly and he fell out of the seat when the rider braked at altitude.
The ride has been disassembled since Florida Governor Ron DeSantis greenlighted the Tyree Sampson Act in May 2023, which aims to strengthen safety requirements for amusement park attractions. The family has also called for industry-wide reforms to implement “stringent safety measures and monitoring” to prevent such tragedies from happening again.
