Woman says she was injured on same Epic Universe ride where man was found unresponsive, later died
By Justin Schecker, Dacia Johnson
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ORLANDO, FL (WESH) — A lawsuit has been filed by a Central Florida woman who claims she was injured on the same ride as a man who was found unresponsive and later died.
The man, Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, 32, was found unresponsive on the Stardust Racers roller coaster earlier this month. The Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office determined he died from multiple blunt impact injuries and ruled the death accidental.
The woman’s attorney has asked that her name not be released at this time.
Her complaint says Stardust Racers caused her head to shake violently and slam against her seat’s headrest. It goes on to say she had a reasonable expectation that the rides inside Epic Universe would be reasonably safe.
One of the allegations is that Universal failed to properly restrain her head while riding Stardust Racers.
Before the grand opening of Epic Universe in May, she got to check out the new immersive worlds and attractions during the preview period on April 30.
The Spetsas-Buist law firm filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, asking for a jury trial to decide how much Universal should compensate their client for her head injuries.
Universal Orlando Resort President Karen Irwin said the ride was functioning properly when Rodriguez Zavala was on it.
The Ben Crump Law Firm has started its own investigation on behalf of Rodriguez Zavala’s family in search of answers about how he died from what the medical examiner described as blunt impact injuries.
What happened to the woman is not included in state records through July 15, which show a 63-year-old man with a pre-existing condition experienced dizziness, and a 47-year-old woman with a pre-existing condition had visual disturbance and numbness after riding Stardust Racers.
Universal did not respond to requests from WESH 2 for comment about this new lawsuit.
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