Disabled man sues Disneyland and is awarded $8,000

Leah Zanolla | Posted: Mar 27, 2013 | Updated: Oct 19, 2014 - 9:25:27 AM

Back in February of 2011, we wrote about a disabled man who sued Disneyland after being stuck on the "it's a small world" attraction. Jose Martinez, 52, has just been awarded $8,000 for his claim; $4,000 for pain and suffering and $4,000 for "other access violations."

Martinez is confined to a wheelchair and claims that on November 27, 2009, he was stuck on the ride for 40 minutes after it stalled, while all other passengers were removed first. He said he asked cast members to evacuate him, but they didn’t have a plan in place to properly evacuate disabled passengers from the attraction. His blood pressure spiked while waiting and paramedics were not called right away. Martinez suffers from panic attacks and high blood pressure, which was aggravated by a need to urinate.

Suzi Brown, Disneyland spokeswoman, said, "Disneyland Resort believes it provided all appropriate assistance ... and is disappointed that the court did not fully agree."