A woman has sued Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, claiming that she suffered severe injuries from a "painful wedgie" at the Typhoon Lagoon waterpark.
In a lawsuit filed in Orange County, Florida, last week, a woman named Emma McGuinness said that she visited the park in October 2019 to celebrate her 30th birthday with her mother and daughter.
While there, McGuinness rode the Humunga Kowabunga, which is Typhoon Lagoon's most instantaneous and steepest waterslide as it sends people down a five-story descent at speeds of up to 40mph.
The court filing - obtained by FOX35 - claims that at the top of the 214-foot water slide, the parkgoer went on the ride wearing a one-piece swimming costume, and was instructed to cross her legs.
McGuinness' lawyers alleged that she was then "slammed downward against the slide" while descending, and this caused her to "be painfully forced between her legs and for water to be violently forced inside her".
The court document claims that "her impact into the standing water at the bottom" caused a "painful wedgie" which led to immediate bleeding so she was taken by ambulance to a local hospital before being transported to see a specialist who deals with gynecological injuries.
Upon examination, the doctors found she had a "full thickness laceration" of the vagina, which "caused the plaintiff's bowel to protrude through her abdominal wall and damage her internal organs," as cited by The New York Times.
Now, the lawsuit is seeking at least $50,000 in damages, with McGuinness accusing Walt Disney Parks and Resorts of negligence. The complaint says the slide carries dangers that Disney World knew about - or should have known about - as well as not informing riders to wear protective swimwear.
The resort also failed to fix "the defective and unreasonably dangerous condition that caused Ms. McGuinness to become airborne" as she dropped down the slide.
"Specifically, when a rider of the slide reached the bottom of the ride and traveled into the pool of water designed to stop further travel, the force of the water can push loose garments into a person’s anatomy - an event known as a 'wedgie,'" the filing states. "Because of a woman’s anatomy, the risk of a painful ‘wedgie’ is more common and more serious than it is for a man."
In addition to this, the lawsuit also says that McGuinness' husband has also "suffered loss of his wife’s care, comfort, consortium, support, and services".
As of this writing, Disney has not shared a statement regarding the lawsuit.
