Legal Question in Personal Injury in Michigan

In August of 2010 I was vacationing with my family at the Walt Disney World, as we do every year. In April of 2010, I was tested by my allergist, as is done every year. He found that my allergies had worsened and I told him of my reaction to eating certain foods. He warned me of the dangers of ingesting those foods that cause a reaction and prescribed epi pens. Prior to visiting Disney World, I contacted the resort in regards to the allergies. They noted them on the reservations of each restaurant and assured me that there would be noting to worry about. The associate I spoke with told me that it would be a good idea to mention the allergy to the host/hostess when arriving at the restaurant to be sure they knew. On our first day, we went to a different resort on Disney property to have dinner at a buffet. My family arrived at the restaurant early and I spoke with the hostess when we checked in to be sure that she knew of my specific needs. We were seated and the waiter came over to the table. I told him of the allergies, as well. Although, the hostess had already placed a note on the table which also states which dining plan you are on. He said that he would get the chef so I coud discuss my specific needs. This is Disney protocol. The chef came over and I gave him a hand written note lisiting my allergies and also verbally noted them to him. He looked over the list and said what I could and could not have. He said it was very straight forward and that he was certain of what I could eat. He told me what foods were safe for me. He said there was no need to walk me around the buffet because he knew his kitchen. I ate dinner with my family and at the end of the meal, the waiter said that our room keys, which also act as our dining cards were not working and that we had to go back to the main lobby to get them fixed. My family told him that we had already used the cards,and that they worked fine. We had to take a boat and three busses to get back to our lobby, which is seperate from where our rooms are. During this time, I began to break out into a rash and feel the chest pain and my throat was beginning to close up. I did not have my Benadryl with me, as our luggage had not arrived in our rooms when we departed for dinner. This, would have been my first course of action. Since we had to go back to the lobby for a special trip, the access to our rooms was pushed back further. We arrived at the lobby, where the manager told us that the cards were fine and that the waiter did not know what he was doing. I was feeling very sick and had no choice but to use my epipen to stunt the reaction. I injected myself in the lobby, where the manager told my mother that she would not call 911 because she was not the parent(I am 21 years of age). My mother spoke with the 911 operator and they said they were sending an ambulance. At this point I was going into shock.The ambulance arrived and the gentlemen did the appropriate tests and gave me the necessary medication to counteract the epinephrine. My mother went with me to the hospital, where the doctor agreed that the allergic reaction was severe and that the epipen was necessary to save my life. We spent several hours at the hospital. My father took a cab to join us. I was discharged late that night with two prescriptions to be filled and we paid a cab to return to the hotel. The next day, my father was reimbursed for the cab fare. The manager said that if we wanted Disney to pay for the prescriptions and costs not covered by our insurance, we had to fill out a claim form when we returned home. The manager did call to check on me the next day, which was completely pushed back because of the late night previously. Upon our return home, I called guest claims and they said that thye would examine the claim to see if they would pay anything. I had to send in forms and they covered the prescriptions. My claims officer said she would be getting back to me about the other costs. In early December, I received a phone call from a gentleman at Disney Resrt Guest Claims. I was taking a timed exam at the time. He said that he had reviewed my case and thought that Disney had done nothing wrong to harm me. However, to be generous to me, he would offer me a very small amount toward my next Disney vacation in exchange for my signing a simple form. I said alright. I began to think about the situation and pondered that he must want me to sign a release form because Disney did feel some liability. I called him back and asked him if I was signing a release form. He said absolutley not. I explained that I was not trying to be argumentative, but that I felt Disney was liable and that they must also think this, if they are offereing me money in exchange for me siging a release form. He said not at all and became very argumentative. He said that I was probably responsible for eating someting I was allergic too, and that he was being polite because Disney has to deal with thousands of "ridiculous" requests from guests. I said that the hotel manager said that an investigation was going to be under way to find out what caused the allergy. He eventually slipped and admitted that the carrots had contained honey, something I am allergic to. I questioned this and he pushed it aside and denied saying it. After a lengthy conversation, he said that he would send the form for me,even thought I expressed that I was concerned about it. I received the letter and it clearly states that I am releasing them for any and all liability and that I am not able to divulge the amount to any person, ever. Since the incident, my allergies have worsened to the point that I am even allergic to body wash and shampoo. My question, then, is; Can I file suit for more money to recover damages, since they did admit guilt?


Asked on 1/03/11, 11:33 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Shelly Schellenberg MI & FL private practice

The question is not what they "admitted" to you, but what you can "prove" in court. It sounds as if you are SO extremely sensitive to SO many many different things, and that you are AWARE of the extreme DANGER that you put yourself in, everytime that you travel, or eat in a restaurant. A jury hearing your long list of allergies, and about your epi pens, and hives etc,...would wonder why you would take such a huge risk and eat at a buffet. Can you sue? Yes. Will you collect? Maybe, maybe not. This is not a case that I would accept on a contingent fee basis. You should think long and hard about the settlement that Disney offered, and then don't eat in restaurants anymore.

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Answered on 1/08/11, 3:04 pm


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