A jury in Orange County, Florida has awarded the family of Tyre Sampson $310 million after his fatal fall from an amusement park ride in 2022.
As we previously shared, in March 2022, 14-year-old Tyre Sampson, of Ferguson/St. Louis, Missouri, was tragically killed after falling to his death off a freefall tower drop ride at Orlando’s ICON Park. The ride at the park has since been shut down since Sampson’s death. A state investigation found that Sampson’s seat was manually adjusted to fit his size, and there were also no seatbelts used on the ride.
Following the death of Tyre Sampson, his family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against ICON Park and the ride’s operators in March 2023, but not against the ride’s foreign manufacturers, “Funtime Handels (FUNTIME),” which is based in Austria. The family of Tyre Sampson previously settled with the first two parties and on Thursday (December 5), the family’s wrongful death civil suit against the ride’s foreign maker “Funtime Handels (FUNTIME)” began. In this case, the family accused the foreign ride maker of negligence.
“Funtime Handels (FUNTIME)” and their attorneys did not show up for court on Thursday, leaving the jury and judge to rule without them, essentially a default case. The judge had already decided that the Austrian company was liable for negligence since they stopped participating earlier in the suit process and was the only company that did not settle with the family of Tyre Sampson before the case went to trial.
From there, the jury was left to decide how much the family was owed, really how much the company’s insurance company would have to shell out. By 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, the jury came back and awarded the family of Tyre Sampson more than $300 million in the civil wrongful death lawsuit over the teen’s fatal fall from an amusement park ride in 2022.
On Thursday, the jury ordered “Funtime Handels (FUNTIME)” to pay $310 million to the family of Tyre Sampson after the 14-year-old tragically fell from an amusement park ride in Florida in 2022.
Speaking on the verdict, the family’s attorney, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, said, “This verdict is a step forward in holding corporations accountable for the safety of their products. The jury’s decision confirms what we have long argued: Tyre’s death was the result of blatant negligence and a failure to prioritize safety over profits. The ride’s manufacturers neglected their duty to protect passengers, and today’s outcome ensures they face the consequences of those decisions. We hope this case serves as a wake-up call for the entire industry to implement stricter safety measures and oversight to prevent such tragedies from happening again. Tyre’s legacy will be a safer future for riders everywhere.”
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