When Adam got stuck on one of Blizzard Beach’s tube rides, he injured his leg and had trouble getting out of the ride. He had to wait over 15 minutes for a wheelchair, and then the medical staff at the water park treated him more or less the way a school nurse would treat someone—with a brochure, some water, and some ibuprofen.
Here’s the letter he sent to Disney describing what happened on his visit last month:
My name is Adam Roca, and I recently visited Blizzard Beach Water Park on August 14, 2008. On one of the rides, I became ejected from my tube and stuck on the ride. In addition, one of my legs became awkwardly stuck underneath me. In attempts to free my leg and move down the slide, I applied pressure on my other leg to free myself. My ankle turned sideways and I fell down the remainder of the ride.
At the bottom of the slide, I called to my girlfriend for help. She told the lifeguard we needed help, and was ignored. Being a trained lifeguard herself, my girlfriend got into the pool to help me away from the slide. She pulled me to the stairs, where she again demanded help. The lifeguard said she was phoning someone. After several minutes, she said that someone would be coming with a wheelchair to assist us.
In the meantime, people kept coming down the slide and haphazardly running into my leg. More time passed, and the lifeguard said the wheelchair had been moved, so we had to wait longer for someone to come and help.
In total, I waited more than 15 minutes, writhing in pain at the bottom of this water slide. Once the person came with the wheelchair, I was assured that the nurse at the on-site medical center would be able to assist me.
At the center, the nurse simply asked if I was able to bear weight on my ankle. When I replied that I was not able to, she handed me a brochure and said I could go there to get X-rays. I told her that I didn’t have health insurance and this wasn’t an ideal solution. She said it was up to me, and that they couldn’t do anything else for me. I told her I was at least hoping for some ice and maybe some ibuprofen, and she complied.
We then drove straight to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, a place where we knew I would be treated regardless of insurance status. They took X-rays and informed me my ankle was broken. I was then referred to a orthopedic doctor and set up an appointment. Within the next business day or two (either 8/15 or 8/18 around 2 pm), I called Blizzard Beach and filed an injury report and issued a complaint against the staff at the park.
At the doctor’s appointment, Dr. Klein confirmed I had broken my fibula, and in addition, I tore my ligament on the other side of my ankle. He said that I would need to get surgery to heal properly so that I could walk again. I had surgery on 8/22/08 at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, and I had a metal plate permanently screwed into my leg.
I have spoken to several lawyers since the accident. They seem fairly confident that at least a claim can be made to recuperate some of the money lost due to my ever-increasing medical expenses (at the moment, they total more than $13,000). Without medical insurance and living below the poverty level, I know this serious debt will mire my possibilities in the future.
I know Disney prides itself in providing entertainment for working families that’s safe and memorable. I would very much like Disney’s help in this time of need. I would particularly hope Disney would take responsibility for its loyal customers while they are on its very property.
Adam, we’re actually surprised Disney didn’t contact you to resolve this. If your letter doesn’t get a response, check out our post on how to write an Executive Email Carpet Bomb, and look here for Disney email addresses.
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after 7 years of working at Walt Disney World, i have to wonder how it took 15 minutes to get help. not saying it couldn’t have happened, just would be a VERY unusual circumstance.
Disney has the Reedy Creek Fire and Emergency Department ON THE PROPERTY, less than 10 minutes from Blizzard Beach at all times. more than once i had to call them out for bumps, bruises and band aids. that’s right, band aids. i could hand out a band aid from the guest relations window, but if the park guest wanted any kind of medical attention, ambulance it was. no cost to them either. had always been worth it to provide emergency medical services as a sort of a ‘gag’ to keep people from opening their mouths about injuries.
i HAVE been gone 4 years, so anything could have changed of course
I don’t understand what is so wrong about someone below the poverty line going to Disney for a day.
I grew up in a poor family, and we’d go on those types of trips maybe once every one or two years. Just because a family is poor doesn’t mean they can’t save up the meager $120 or so it would take to let their family have a day of fun.
If you live in poverty, you kind of need a break every now and then. That $120 isn’t going to make or break you.
BTW… I recommend that people talk to more than one lawyer before retaining someone to handle an important problem in their life. I see too many people who signed up with the first lawyer they met and then needed me to clean up that mess.
Here, I would expect the OP to meet with three-five attorneys to see whether one of them believed that a case could be made against Disney for the entire injury or just for the negligent response.
@erratapage: While I agree with you that it’s a good idea not to talk to the first attorney you call out of the Yellow Pages, I don’t see that anyone needs to talk to “several” regarding a simple PI claim….and certainly they should not be telling the potential defendant “I have talked to several attorneys”. That says that you don’t HAVE an attorney, for starters.
The dude drove over two hours to the hospital.
Anyway, disney (as much as I hate them) doesn’t have the stuff to treat a broken or badly sprained ankle or to diagnos one.
Also, he became ejected or ejected himself. I know how that goes since I was a kid (pretty much still a kid)
I’m not blaming him although he may have been the main cause of the injury. I do agree that Disney should have acted a bit more quickly, but they can only treat so much at their nurse station.
I think we can all agree that the lifeguards “yeah it’s coming” approach was bad. But I really don’t think we have the whole picture here yet. There’s something odd that someone below the poverty line will drive over 2 hours away to Sarasota (south of Tampa) to go to the doctor.
I agree Disney should help out more in this situation AS DESCRIBED, but I have a feeling we’re getting one side of the story…
Whoever said it was smart for a young adult to go without health insruance has no idea about health care. As you can see here, breaking your ankle is a 10k bill and thats a mild thing. What young adult has 10k to shell out.
Hmm…Say I was injured, on a daytrip a couple of hours from home. I’m uninsured and I don’t have much if any extra money.
I could go to a local hospital and perhaps be admitted and stuck there with no local resources to help me out.
Or since I’m not bleeding to death I can deal with the pain and ride home to a hospital I am familar with, or perhaps where I know I might be able to make arrangements with, and at least I’m home and won’t be trying to figure out how to get home from several hours away.
@grumpymo:
Exactly! I grew up under the poverty line, and without insurance. Now I have insurance, but insurance doesn’t cover everything, and every time I have to get medical help I’m nervous that I’m going to the wrong clinic or hospital and my claim will be denied. I totally understand why the OP would go to a hospital where he knew how he would be treated.
all I have to say is “It’s a small world after all”.
I’m really surprised Disney didn’t pony up for this. Although some assumption of risk is no doubt called for at Blizzard Beach, this sounds like a pretty severe injury, and whatever else you can say about The Mouse, they usually cover their asses liability-wise and take care of problems at their parks.
As for the whole entry fee thing, maybe the guy’s girlfriend paid. Maybe a parent or friend gave him the ticket as a gift. $35 is really not huge, indulgence-wise, for anybody who is not actually on the verge of starvation. Absolutely every single human being on earth ever could do something ‘better’ with their money than go to Blizzard Beach, including zillionaires. And questioning why he was there doesn’t have a thing to do with the fundamental issue — i.e., Disney, for once, appears not to have taken care of a park injury.
All this poverty nonsense…did anyone ever consider that maybe the guy is a student? As a student I make maybe $4000 a year…definitely WAY below the poverty line. But enough for me to get by while I’m school when combined with financial aid and some help from my mother. My mom helps me out but also doesn’t have 13k for a hospital bill.
Do I have health insurance? NO. I can’t afford it. Do I go out and have fun? Of course. I’m not going to sit in my house all day and sign over all my paychecks to some insurance company (the same goes for MILLIONS of other Americans, in case you didn’t notice).
ENOUGH already people.
@morganlh85: Unless your on your own, your not in “poverty” despite making that little income. It’s defined as your total income.
If that were the case, 98% of the nations children live in poverty, more than any other nation on earth.
@digitalgimpus: Being a student does not necessarily mean one is still a dependent.
From sounds of the story, the OP aparrently entered the slide awkwardly and when trying to correct he ended up getting wedged in or injuring his foot. I’ve never had a broken ankle and torn ligaments, but I can imagine the pain is enough to make your memories a little fuzzy. I wish him the best of luck and hope he somehow gets a fair break. If he does live below poverty line most hospitals do have some non-profit assistance programs. They generally have miles of red tape, but nothing in life is ever easy in attaining.
As for all the “Shoulda had health insurance” comments. I am both amazed and apalled by the sheer number of people that come to this site that have their heads lodged in their posteriors. It appears as though most of them live in some fucked up microcosm where independent health insurance is good for more than releiving you of a couple hundred bucks a month.
What kind of country do we live in where a GROCERY BAGGER has better health insurance than a computer technician? It’s the truth, my first job was bagging groceries and as a dues paying Union member my health insurance was 100% paid for by the company. The insurance was top notch too, never denied a claim and pre-existing conditions were only pre-existing for 60 days. Hell, if the store hadn’t closed its doors I’d probably still work weekends there running a cash register or hucking milk into the cooler just for the insurance.
@MrEvil: In the grand scheme of things, his lack of insurance has absolutely NO bearing on his case (or lack thereof) against Disney. Being uninsured and poor is just an unfortunate happenstance here.
@rshettle: yeah I agree that has no bearing on a PI case against Disney, I just hope the guy doesn’t end up filing Bankruptcy like so many folks do because shit happens.
How is Disney liable in a suit? Their neglect to help you after the injury doesn’t change the fact that you broke you ankle when you went down the slide.
I agree that their staff did an absolutely terrible job in aiding you when injured and at the very least should formally apologize and perhaps offer a refund to the park, but you should be aware of possible risks of injury when barreling down a water slide.
..and of course a lawyer is going to tell you a claim is possible. They want to make a quick buck when Disney settles out of court.
I can’t figure out what the OP’s pay has to do with anything. In fact, I can’t figure how whether his injury was his fault has to do with anything.
Since when does medical staff refuse to help because of how the injury occurred? Since when do life guards ignore uninsured people (as if they can tell by looking)? They don’t. So why is it even being discussed?
The OP’s girlfriend had to get him out of the water and that the OP had to prompt the nurse for a bag of ice and ibuprofen. That should not be the case when someone is injured.
Yikes.
You go without health insurance you *know* you’re taking your chances and you know that one accident could financially devastate you. I have no pity for those without health insurance. And yes, I was without health insurance for a long time myself, and I also used to sell health insurance, so I know what’s available and what it costs.
@hypoxia: I think the “I used to sell health insurance” is the key phrase there. I was without health insurance for six months after college (three months to get a job, three months for the new job to start covering me). Look, I knew I was taking my chances. But it’s not like I could go, “Hey, this is a major financial risk to me and my health! Where’s that $400 a month for insurance? Ohh, I must have hidden it underneath the couch cushions!” I just kept looking and crossed my fingers in the meantime. Have a little compassion.
And insurance companies aren’t exactly eager to cover you either, so this guy would still probably have a shitload of medical bills regardless. Regardless of if he’s exaggerating or not, I would guess Disney owes him at least something. I’m not sure what, but something.
What next? Are we going to start blaming him for having legs? Because people with legs obviously shouldn’t go to water parks. It’s irresponsible!
OP is at fault for not drinking enough milk, and having weak bones. Comments are getting ridiculous round here.
I’m pretty sure there’s a disclaimer at the park that they are not responsible for any injuries and associated medical costs and if you enter the park you agree to that.
If you take legal action Disney would probably point to that.
Doesn’t negligence have to be proven on Disney’s part? The lifeguard was less than helpful, but that hardly makes it Disney’s fault the OP fell out and got his leg twisted. If the OP was injured by a faultily designed ride, then Disney should pay. This sounds more like a no fault accident. It sucks that he has no insurance, but I don’t see why Disney should be expected to pay for the doctor bills.
Until and unless we get to socialized medicine, people like this should not engaged in high risk activity without medical coverage. So this guy has money to spend at the park but no money to buy insurance? At the very least he could have bought trip accident insurance for a few bucks. People like this are highly irresponsible and it should be we, the people, suing him to pay up his hospital bill. As far as Disney is concerned, I am sure their corporate lawyers have a disclaimer on the ticket basically saying that participation in the park activities is at your own risk and you are responsible for your own damage. They would only be liable if it could be proven that the client was a victim of negligence. Since there was no imminent danger of drowning in the pool, a wait of 15 minutes to get him help to get out seems reasonable. The nurse provided him the correct advice to get X-rays. She did not specify where and basically this complainer refused. Personally I think there should be laws that people without insurance (be it automobile, medical, home, or whatever) should not be allowed to sue. They want their rights upheld while not living up to their responsibilites.
@Caveat: Unless and until we get socialized medicine, companies that open high-risk enterprises (like amusement parks) to the general public will have to deal with people getting injured and needing the resulting medical care paid for.
@Caveat: You’re right. Anyone without health insurance shouldn’t engage in behaviors like walking, running, biking, going up or down stairs, swimming, singing, dancing or, most importantly, showering without a proper bath mat. Bastards, all of them.
@mythago: whether or not we ever get socialized healthcare (personally I’m against it) really has no bearing on how liable these “high-risk enterprises” are. If that was the case any of these enterprises could save tons by not maintaining their equipment and pawn off all the injurys that occur due to neglegence to the healthcare system. Financially speaking (other than getting a well deserved bad reputation) it could make financial sense for the companies to save a few bucks here…
@rshettle: That’s what punitive damages and strict government regulations are for.
@mythago:
LOL, hurray for more government!!!
*puk*
@Caveat: This is a warning. We’ve posted several times in this thread. STOP BLAMING THE VICTIM. I don’t know how else I can say this.
Continue and risk revocation of your comment privileges.
@Consumerist-Moderator-Roz: It’s really great how posts like this bring out all the victim-blaming a**hats. I imagine it makes it easier to spot the real jerks and “weed the garden.”
@Caveat: You have really got to be kidding, right?
@Caveat: And last I checked, the $40 or $50 he probably paid to get into the amusement park wouldn’t anywhere NEAR cover even one month’s health insurance. Ridiculous.
Wow. how does a broken ankle = $13000. That’s an xray and a cast. I’ve had surgury with time in a hospital bed and a CAT scan that cost less.
@Geekybiker: I don’t know but the OP said “ever-increasing medical expenses” so I guess there’s been additional medical bills after the first hospital visit.
Hey, moderators — clean this thing up. now it’s an ugly debate about whether poor people are allowed to have fun and the intricacies of Florida discounts at Disney.
If the post is accurate, Disney performed poorly and I am shocked, given the level of service I’ve seen on many, many visits to the park. I doubt they would r refuse to call an ambulance if that’s what the guy wanted.
So, Disney handled it poorly, but they didn’t cause the injury or seem to have worsened it. They certainly don’t need to pick up that tab just because they were slow to respond.
Bottom line: OP is in financial trouble and thinks Disney should feel guilty enough to bail him out. This smacks of an attitude of entitlement that some Disney guests seem to develop because of the high level of service Disney promises (and usually provides). I’ve seen people become horribly demanding and beligerent at the parks because they think they deserve to have Disney make everything perfect for them.
I haven’t been to this particular waterpark, but at all the ones I’ve been to, they have a sign posted outside basically saying “play here at your own risk”. Do they have any sort of posting like that at this water park? If not, I don’t think they can put liabilty on the OP because they did not disclose the risk involved with the rides. If there was a sign there, he shouldn’t have gone into the park because he would have known what the risk was and that he may be injured and that Disney would not cover anything. Another thing I just thought of is that Disney should have insurance to cover this type of incident and the bad press would likely cost more than any deductible would. It just doesn’t make sense from a business standpoint to not help this guy in some way. Would the OP be willing to to turn this into good press for Disney if they pony up and pay his bills?
And, please, people get health insurance. I know everyone’s situation is different, but I know form experience that if you cut out the right things, you can live under the poverty line and have health insurance. I used to make very little money and had to pay for insurance myself- the company I worked for didn’t contribute anything to our healthcare. It sucked- I couldn’t afford to go out with friends, I had to budget everything, plan every meal, etc. I know how expensive healthcare is, but I also know how expensive it is to not have it. Now, I didn’t have any kids or debt (unless you want to count my mortgage) so this may have been easier for me than other people, but you cut out all the unnecessary things from your life. Things like cable TV, internet service, cigarettes, eating out, lotto tickets, unscheduled trips to the grocery store, etc. I’m sure that some people already live that way and still can’t afford healthcare, that’s why we have wellfare. I also know that there are plenty of people that act like they can’t afford healthcare, when if they only spent money on necessary items, they could afford it easily.
@blah,blah,blah: I’m on the verge of going on the Ramen and water diet if I cut back anymore. Unfortunately my job has me paying quite a few things out of pocket (I’m an independent contractor so no benefits, no FLSA protections, and no company car.) After I pay for my internet (call dispatching), cell phone (for more dispatching and calling customers), Fax line (for completed work orders), gasoline and vehicle maintainance, auto insurance, extra insurance on my work vehicle to cover full cost of a replacement in case of total loss as well as lost profits, and general liability insurance all I have left over for is health insurance with a $6000 annual deductible. I’ve never spent $6000 a year on healthcare so far in my life. Basically I’m just paying an insurance company to do what I can do for free myself by lighting $100 bills on fire.
Getting a new job is on the table as one of my options, but unfortunately nobody will hire me. I guess they think I’ll somehow buck authority or just up and quit if I don’t get my way. My dad’s had the same problem his entire working life as well. Being self-employed basically ruins your chances at getting a regular job.
I had a minor accident on Splash Mountain last year. Just a cut toe (from a metal lip inside the log) but the paramedics were there within 10 minutes.
Forgetting about the emotional aspect and Disney’s delayed reaction – even if Disney had been more attentive and prompt the main question remains – is Disney responsible for the medical expenses of injured guests on water slides. Apparently “several lawyers” aren’t confident enough to take on the case.
I wish Adam all the best in recovering from this accident and in recovering some or all of his costs. I believe Florida’s small claims limit is $5000.
Oh yea, let’s remind Disney to keep the local riff-raff out so that jet-setting, matching luggage, northerners can have fun in peace.
I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice.
Seems to me that if the claim that Disney did not close the slide after the plaintif became stuck, they are liable for the additional injuries resulting from other customers comming down the slide.
That strikes me as being a clear case of negligence as does the failure to promptly call competent medical attention to the scene.
I would bet that the Disney regulations require a ride to be closed immediately if there is an injured guest trapped on any part of it.
I would certainly not go to small claims. I would go to a real lawyer. Disney settles cases, just like every other big company. Much as they might wish to give the impression that they do not the law applies to them as well.
I don’t think you are going to see a multi-million dollar settlement, but they would be fools to fight all the way to trial if they can settle for medical expenses plus legal fees. They are not fools.
Even visitors with health insurance could be facing huge out of pocket expenses – a $1,000-$5,000 annual deductible and/or 10-50% co-pays.
The only real question here is whether the injury was an accident or a result of negligence.
Why do so many people think that someone living below the poverty line shouldn’t ever be able to go to Dinsey World? Are you saying it’s not OK for someone poor to put aside money for maybe a few years in order to take a fun vacation at the end? They just have to sit around and be poor all the time and never spend for anything that you think should be beyond their means?
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@crystalattice:
You sir are an asshat.
You live below the poverty level and you still have $40.00+ dollars to dish out for a water park? Talk about a lack of priorities!
Every “big” place that I have visited (Casinos, Theme Parks, Ball Parks, Zoos etc) has had an emergency action plan in place. Entry level employees are taught their roles (notify supervisor, isolate victim etc) and appropriate personnel are in place to handle specific events.
Take the classic Bat or Ball entering the stands. Ushers immediately enter area, followed by security and emergency medical staff. Never going to have a neurosurgeon doing a proceedure in the field, but the level of response is quite good.
I have seen slips and falls at Theme Parks. Same kind of response.
Sounds like Disney failed to follow their action plan OR the OP is embellishing the event. I would like to see/read more.
Wow..this one I have a bit of trouble believing, but you never know.
My wife worked in Risk Management for the Gap and had an opportunity to speak with Disney execs at a meeting. They have plans in place for e v e r y t h i n g.
I would assume their water park would be covered like nobodies business.
I feel for you Adam. Good luck with your case! Since hundreds of thousands of people have been to the park without injury you may have a tough time proving that it wasn’t your fault. Unfortunately I disagree with this but I do realize that that’s how the court system works sometimes.
This is clearly an argument for Nationalized health care.
@megafly2: Yes, lets have nationalized health care so that everyone’s level of care except for Congress and the uberrich is brought down several notches. Nationalized healthcare would only work if those in Congress and the Uberrich had to use the exact same system and everyone else which we know would never happen.
Unless you can somehow prove the ride is defective outside the boundaries of reason there’s not a chance this would hold up in court. Accidents happen. You simply can’t prevent all accidents.
Someone earlier mentioned that Disney would be liable for not closing the ride after the OP got stuck. How can they stop people already on their way down or before it’s reported? This wouldn’t hold up in court either.
Bets way is to go through Disney but I doubt they’ll do anything unless they get enough bad PR. Going to a waterpark or amusement park and partaking in activities constitutes knowingly taking a calculated risk. People need to accept that.
My family and I were at Blizzard beach less than a week before the OP’s accident, and all I can add is that the staff at the park was the least professional or helpful (to the point of being amateurish) of any Disney enterprise we have ever visited.
In other words, why am I surprised this gentleman had problems?
Wow…this is pathetic. I can’t believe some of the people going on about the op being below poverty level. As if poor people shouldn’t even DREAM of going to Disney. What is wrong with you guys?
Besides, HOW he got into the park isn’t really relevant now is it?
I used to work security at the Disneyland Resort (that’s California, not Florida) and it’s standard operating procedure there for a security cast member and a nurse to report to any accident scene and determine whether the call merits emergency services. I’m not sure how they operate in Florida, but I’m guessing it’s similar. In this case, a nurse and a security cast member should’ve been on scene, deciding whether to call dispatch for an ambulance.
However, once you’re in that ambulance, you’re on your own. And trust me, ambulance rides cost $$$$. When I worked for Disney, nurses on property didn’t take X-rays or hand out prescription medication. They are there to determine whether outside medical intervention is necessary.
I’m not sure the cast members here dropped the ball. They could’ve been more timely in getting the guest assistance, and if the injury was serious enough they would’ve called an ambulance. However, the nurse may have asked this guy if he wanted an ambulance and he could’ve easily turned it down for cost reasons.
In this case, I’d file a complaint with “City Hall.” If there’s one thing Disney takes seriously, it’s guest complaints against cast members. But again, that’s how it works in California.
The poverty line in most of Canada for a family of 4 is at least $32,000.00. We are a family of 5, not 4. One of the things we love to do every year is go to the exibition. We save up for months, but this year, we failed at having the funds to go. We moved, and that ate into our savings. Even working full time, we’re still under the poverty line.
But, guess what?
Mr. No49 is taking us tomorrow to the rides and events two weeks after the exibition because his company is having their annual picnic and have chosen that site as their picnic. I do hope no one is daring to say we shouldn’t go because we are under the poverty line, even with the free ticket for him, and discounted tickets and more for us.
After all, he has worked hard at his job to enable us to go to this picnic.
the only difference? It isn’t disneyland. That would be a once in a lifetime for us.
I am guessing the tickets are like MLB tickets. By attending the game you waive your rights to sue if you get injured (hit by a ball or bat and so on).
This post is just another example of how our health system sucks. The OP could be spending his money on health insurance, that would be great, but after his $200 a month premium, he would probably still be stuck with at least $5,000, deductibles and what not and, from his $13,000 bill, if he wasn’t stuck with the whole bill. They might deny the claims stating that Disney is liable, but they won’t pay your legal fees to prove it, leaving you responsible for the full bill.
If plaintiffs didn’t have to show negligence you would quickly have a line of people hobbling into Blizzard Beach.
When I broke my ankle at school I never got ibuprofen and water, the school nurse said it’s probably a sprain walk it off.
If we’re going to have rules for commenting, I think we should have rules for posting.
And one of those rules should be that unless your economic situation has some actual bearing on the story, it should not be mentioned. Let the case be judged on its merits. It’s impossible to debate this episode without having a flame war about whether the guy was really poor, what impoverished people deserve, and national health care policy. It’s all irrelevant to the consumerist aspects of this case.
I am surprised they didnt even splint it. Splints are effective, cheap, and easy to use onsite care…how can you not even have splints (or even an emt, which would be even better) at a multimillion dollar waterpark? I mean, an EMT gets paid like 10 bucks an hr where I am from.
I think Disney should be nice and help out this person. Also, if they don’t have insurance and live below the poverty level, would the OP qualify for Medicaid? I would encourage them to check into it, perhaps contact other social services to try and find ways to get lower cost health care. Insurance is an expensive thing and many people do without it but if there is a way to obtain it, someone should. Cases like this can be a lesson to others that insurance is a sad necessity due to the high costs of medical treatment.
“Without medical insurance and living below the poverty level…”
Whoa, whoa, whoa. I’m sorry for this guy’s suffering, but seriously, NO ONE IN THIS SITUATION HAS ANY BUSINESS SPENDING THEIR FRUGAL PAYCHECK AT DISNEY! It’s a simple matter of needs and wants. You NEED health insurance; you DON’T need to visit Disney.
First off, I would like to thank the Consumerist for posting my message. I actually didn’t even know it was here. 16,000 reads? That is truly incredible. I’m forever grateful that they helped me get the word out, and even sparked a bit of a debate about nationalized health care and the like.
Second off, thanks to everyone for their support. Regardless of your politics and your feelings towards me or my decision-making, its always good to hear from people that care.
Just wanted to give a bit of an update. After sending the letter, I was contacted by a Disney rep. However, I grew pretty suspicious with her b/c one of the first things she said was that she needed to ask me some questions and she was going to audio record the conversation.
Around the same time, I settled on an Orlando law firm that deals specifically with cases like this that is working on a contingency basis. They have been more than helpful. Right now, we have to wait for all the medical bills to roll in before anything official can be done.
As irrelevant as it is (like many have pointed out), let me explain a little more about my income level, reasons for being at the park, etc. The visit to the park was a gift to my girlfriend for her birthday. I didn’t really consider the increased risk I took by going on the trip. And by ‘going on the trip’, I’m mostly talking about the leaving my house, getting into a car and driving aspect, which probably results in about 1,000,000x more injuries and deaths than water slides.
The sadly ironic thing is that my health insurance kicked in approximately 11 days after the accident. My initial hesitation of going to the hospital had to do with the fact that I had very little money at the time. It wasn’t until I talked to several friends on the phone who have had previous ankle injuries that I grew particularly concerned with it. Had I known that this would result in costly surgery, I would have likely just waited til the insurance kicked in (although its ambiguous if this would have even been an effective strategy b/c any doctor I saw would have been able to tell that the injury occurred two weeks prior and therefore was a ‘previously existing injury’ in the eyes of the insurance company)
Since many people seem interested, I am employed through the Americorps VISTA program, which focuses on anti-poverty initiatives all throughout the country. The job pretty much revolves around community service initiatives. Despite being a poorly-paid form of employment ($800/month after taxes), I find it extremely awarding. Hah, I also now have insurance!
Finally, my healing seems to be going pretty well. Its been 6 weeks since my surgery, and I see my doctor tommorrow to hopefully have my cast removed. After that, its 4-6 weeks with a boot and then some physical therapy. He said I should be able to walk again in a couple of months, although he did caution that many people aren’t able to walk normally for up to 6 months after such a surgery.
I will send another update in a few months about my status.
Thanks again for everyone’s support.
God bless.
-Adam Roca