Lawyer Ben Crump says Universal missed red flags that Stardust Racers was not safe

The attorney for the family of a man who died after riding an Epic Universe roller coaster says Universal missed warning signs that Stardust Racers was unsafe.

Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, 32, died^[1] Sept. 17. Ben Crump, his family’s lawyer, said Rodriguez Zavala suffered multiple blunt force trauma after hitting his head repeatedly on the coaster’s metal bar starting on the first dip in the ride.

Several people who rode the roller coaster at the Epic Universe have come forward to complain about the restraints and how they were thrown around the ride, Crump said at a press conference^[2] Tuesday.

“Since the family went public, multiple riders have come forward reporting their own injuries on the Stardust Races Rollercoaster. These injuries are consistent — problems with restraints, riders being thrown forward, hitting in hard structures,” Crump said. “This shows that Kevin’s case was not an isolated incident.”

Seminole County resident Sandi Streets sued Universal on Sept. 24, saying her “head shook violently and slammed into her seat’s headrest throughout the duration of the ride” when she rode Stardust Racers April 30 during previews before the Epic Universe theme park’s May 22 grand opening.

Streets’ lawsuit was settled Sept. 26 for undisclosed terms and voluntarily dismissed, according to court records.

“They won’t be able to silence everybody,” Crump said about the lawsuit being settled.

Universal Orlando Resort’s President Karen Irwin^[3] said that the ride had been functioning properly^[4] and “equipment was intact” from beginning to end of the ride in her employee memo.

Crump challenged how Rodriguez Zavala could have died if everything was working properly.

“If there were design issues, that should have been addressed,” Crump said Tuesday. “The fact that they continue to tell us where there was nothing that malfunctioned, everything worked as it was supposed to work … that still does not absolve you from liability and accountability if there were safety issues.”

The emerging complaints were from people who did not have disabilities, Crump said. Rodriguez Zavala, known for his independence and his love of theme parks, used a wheelchair because of a spinal cord disability he had since birth.

Two other cases of people being hurt on Stardust Racers were disclosed^[5] in the quarterly state injury theme park report in July. A 63-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman both went to the hospital for at least 24 hours after complaining of chest pain and dizziness, the state report said.

Florida’s major theme parks are required to self-report guest issues if people are hurt or sick on a ride and require at least 24 hours of hospitalization. The statewide report doesn’t contain a narrative on what happened or describe people’s health issues in great detail. Some lawyers have criticized the state’s report for a lack of transparency^[6].

Crump’s legal team wants to advocate to change how theme park injuries are reported to the public.

“We are seeing that large companies like Universal self-report and self-police themselves with respect to any type of government oversight,” said Paul Grinke, a Managing Attorney at Ben Crump Law. “We will be calling upon greater government oversight. … We are in open communications with state and local officials.”

The family’s attorneys said they are also working with Universal to inspect the coaster. But they are still waiting to get surveillance footage from the ride when Rodriguez Zavala died, in what was a chaotic scene.

“With respect to restraints, we and our experts are going to look at everything from the design to materials on the seat,” Grinke said. “Should there have been more restraints? Should there have been different restraints? Should there have been special restraints for someone in Kevin’s condition? We’re going to look at everything from top to bottom.”

Universal did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. But Irwin previously said in the memo, “The attraction remains closed as we continue through a comprehensive review process in cooperation with the ride manufacturer of record. Safety is, and always will be, at the forefront of everything we do.”

Universal has dealt with safety concerns after opening a major expansion before.

A handful of visitors and Universal employees felt electrical shocks^[7] at Universal’s Volcano Bay water park in 2019. The incident was later connected to electrical flaws during the construction of the water park that opened in 2017, according to federal government records^[8].

At Volcano Bay, Universal also had a history of more than 100 people^[9] getting hurt on the Punga Racers water slide, court records showed. A man broke his neck on the attraction and sued in 2019^[10], which revealed some of the problems on the water slide that eventually forced Universal to change the design^[11].