Disneyland Lawyers Fined in Injury Lawsuit

A court official fined Disneyland attorneys $7,050 for stonewalling efforts to obtain documents in a lawsuit filed by a Los Angeles woman who claims she suffered a brain hemorrhage while riding the park’s Indiana Jones Adventure.

The attorney representing Zipora Jacob, who alleges that she was injured on the ride three years ago, said the Disney attorneys have continually resisted providing documents regarding injury claims and the safety aspects of the ride.

“You shouldn’t have to be jumping through hoops and making motions and further motions to get” the documents, said Barry Novack, Jacob’s attorney. “Basically, they’re saying, ‘We have so many boxes of documents. We couldn’t find it initially, but due to Mr. Novack’s persistence and insistence we went back and found it.’ I think that’s being said in Fantasyland.”

Previously, retired Judge Eli Chernow, who was appointed by the court as a referee to determine which papers Disney had to provide in the lawsuit, penalized the entertainment company by awarding Novack more time to interview witnesses and procure documents in the case. The monetary sanction imposed Tuesday covers the amount of time Novack spent attempting to get Disney to comply and seeking judicial intervention.

Disneyland attorney Stephen Waimey could not be reached for comment. Waimey and his colleagues have 30 days to pay the sanctions, Novack said.

In her suit, Jacob, a former researcher at USC, contends that the turbulence of the Indiana Jones ride caused her severe brain injury, which led to four brain surgeries and a permanent shunt to relieve pressure on her skull.

Jacob’s attorneys contend that hundreds of people have been injured or sickened by the ride since it opened in March 1995. In court documents, they say Disney discounted safety in order to create the ultimate thrill ride.

Disney officials have previously declined to discuss Jacob’s case, except to say that Jacob is the only person ever to complain of such an injury on the popular ride.

The initial Los Angeles Superior Court judge assigned to the case retired at the end of the year and Disney attorneys successfully challenged a second judge. Judge Richard P. Kalustian was assigned to the case Wednesday, Novack said. No new trial date has been set, he said.