Banned from WDW property - for having siezures About This Page:

[Pax]

Originally Posted by disneyknut

But see you said it right there.. that is a MAJOR risk IMHO.. if she happens to knock a display of say Disney ceramic mugs down & my child ( just using an example my kids are all past their teens) is nearby & gets hit/cut with a mug & is injured.. Disney would be held liable for childs injury opening up themselves to lawsuits a plenty!! and what would prevent your friend from suing Disney if she is injured in one of the falls..

That's absolutely ridiculous.

In that case, I or my DGF, are bigger risks to your child than WillCAD's friend. I bump into things all the time, and DGF trips over air. We both weigh more than any display of mugs, so if we fell on yoru child the injuries would be much more severe.

Not to mention, anyone on an ECV who (a) isn't paying enough attention to where they're going (happens as often for ECV riders as for people walking, I'm sure), and/or (b) is not an experienced ECV operator. One of those things runs a child down, and a day-long trip to the ER is definitely in the cards.

And finally ... no, Disney would not be held liable. As long as the display was properly set up, and it fell because another guest stumbled into it (for whatever reason), then it would be an unforseeable act.

Lastly... as a guide . I would like to remind everyone of a PassPorter guideline that is strongly enforced!!

..... I see no religion or politics being discussed here.

[mechurchlady]

Thank you for your update.
Maybe she can get a seizure dog as that would help her greatly.
I wish I could help her out as I have nothing to do but Eleanor need her air conditioning fixed. I think I assumed some things wrongly, sorry. I hope we all learned from your post some new things.
big hgsu to both of you

[Desurae]

It sounds like the security guard is a real jerk and Disney fixed it. I bet that security guard will be finding himself in some very uncomfortable "meetings" with the Disney bosses soon. Disney can not watch and control their employees at all times and it is very sad when one of them is such a bad person. I am so glad your friend will be back at Disney enjoying her happy place.

[Minou]

Originally Posted by Pax

T
And finally ... no, Disney would not be held liable. As long as the display was properly set up, and it fell because another guest stumbled into it (for whatever reason), then it would be an unforseeable act.

Disney MIGHT be held liable if they were aware of the epileptic guest's history of seizures. It would NOT be unforeseeable if someone known to have multiple seizures was on their property and knocked over a display.

[Caldercup]

Imagine a 180-pound guest tripping and falling in front of an ECV. Imagine a 180-pound guest falling on a small child. Imagine a 180-pound guest falling in a bathroom alone and knocking themselves out.

Yes, these are all situations that could happen to any of us.

But if there is a known entity who has a physical condition that causes situations like this (or the potential for situations like this) on a daily basis, then it is the very definition of a liability.

The person who is harmed -- be it the child, another guest, a ride operator, or the person themselves -- would have some legal recourse for going after Disney in court, because Disney was aware of this person and their condition.

That knowledge puts Disney at potential risk.

While I'm glad that Disney has lifted the ban, I hope Will's friend does not harm herself or any other person, regardless of whether or not they are on Disney property.

[Pax]

Originally Posted by Caldercup

The person who is harmed -- be it the child, another guest, a ride operator, or the person themselves -- would have some legal recourse for going after Disney in court, because Disney was aware of this person and their condition.

And all they would have to do is point out that allowing the person on property was a matter of complying with federal law in the form of the ADA. You can't be sued for obeying the law.

[Eeyore Tattoo]

Well said Eileen.. Anyone that is hurt on Disney property is going to go after the deepest pockets, Disney !!!!!!!
Anyone with a known illness that is not properly taking care of themselves, like taking prescribed medication to control it is a liability to anyone around them.
Some people need to open their minds & see the other side of things.
A healthy person that trips & falls is less likely to happen compared to a person with a known untreated disorder that has issues that happen on a regular basis.

[disneyknut]

..... I see no religion or politics being discussed here.

please re-read the reply that you posted

Actually, no they don't have that right. Disney couldn't put up a sign saying "no blacks allowed", for example. Nor could they put up a sign saying "no Jews allowed".

A statement such as that will easily offend members of that race or religion & to single them out is against the guidelines.

[WillCAD]

Originally Posted by Caldercup

Imagine a 180-pound guest tripping and falling in front of an ECV. Imagine a 180-pound guest falling on a small child. Imagine a 180-pound guest falling in a bathroom alone and knocking themselves out.

Yes, these are all situations that could happen to any of us.

But if there is a known entity who has a physical condition that causes situations like this (or the potential for situations like this) on a daily basis, then it is the very definition of a liability.

The person who is harmed -- be it the child, another guest, a ride operator, or the person themselves -- would have some legal recourse for going after Disney in court, because Disney was aware of this person and their condition.

That knowledge puts Disney at potential risk.

While I'm glad that Disney has lifted the ban, I hope Will's friend does not harm herself or any other person, regardless of whether or not they are on Disney property.

I understand what you're saying, Eileen, but think for a moment about the possible repurcussions if such an attitude were to be widespread.

The risk to others is theoretical and very tiny. Thus far she has never harmed anyone or done any damage to anything, EVER, when she has had a public siezure.

But suppose Disney can ban my friend because she has frequent siezures and may present a hazard to others. Disney is a private business, the logic goes, and may ban anyone whom they believe presents a hazard to their other Guests. Of course, since we don't want them banning ALL epileptics, we add the qualifier that they can only ban someone who has a history of unaccompanied siezures on WDW property.

Okay. Next week, Rite Aid will ban her. Then Walgreens. Then Publix. Then the restaurants start in on it. Soon, my friend would be banned from all of the private businesses where she used to spend money on a regular basis. How long before the government would make a "special exception" to ADA and allow Lynx to ban her from the buses, due to the possibility that she could injur someone if she siezed on a bus? Or maybe they'd let her on, but only if she were restrained; at least she'd be able to ride in the FRONT of the bus, right?

How would my friend provide for herself? How would she live her live if she couldn't go to the corner store, or take a bus to see her doctors? She would be, essentially, a second-class citizen.

Allow discrimination of this type to take place, and eventually it will become so widespread that epileptics like my friend, who live alone and have no family in town to accompany them every time they leave the house, will face permanent bans in all sorts of businesses and be unable to complete their normal, everyday activities.

Let's also examine this logic in the context of other disabilities. Blind people bump into things all the time when they are outside of their home environment, don't they? Or do they? Like my friend, blind people who live their lives alone may bump into things all the time and pose a hazard to others, so they could be banned from businesses, too.

People with mobility issues could also be included in this category. I have personally witnessed folks with mobility issues stumble into other people, walls, and furniture in public. Should they also be banned from private businesses because of the possibility that they might fall into someone?

Logic of this kind, my friends, and its inevitable extension into the absurd, is the very reason why ADA exists. It exists to prevent unreasonable restrictions from being placed on disabled people by the narrow-minded, or by the overly-cautious who fear theoretical possibilities presented by disabled people without knowing the realities. It exists to prevent disabled people from being turned into second-class citizens because of the fears, both those with basis in fact and those with no relationship to reality, of the rest of society.

[Caldercup]

I see the slippery slope, Will. And it scares me as someone who would be affected by such an approach.

All I'm saying is that I can see Disney's position on this. I'm glad it's been overturned. And I hope your friend's condition improves.

[zacksmom_1993]

I'm glad there was a good outcome for your friend, Will. /The rest was just noise!/

[Bluegrrl]

I am a new poster, but I think I can add a smidgen of advice to this interesting discussion (before ya'll get tired of it!).

I am an epileptic (or, rather, I have epilepsy/seizure disorder.) Mine is inheritable (juvenile myoclonic epilepsy) and it expressed itself when I was 20.

Anyway, I go to Disney all the time. Like the OP's friend, I live in FL and love going to Disney. Here's the deal: I AM lucky, in that I am very well controlled and can even drive. But that doesn't mean I don't take precautions. I get lots of rest the night before I go to the parks, I don't watch the fireworks (or I watch them from a safe distance - like the Polynesian's beachfront), I take lots of breaks, I don't ride any rides that have strobe lights, etc. I also travel with others.

Have I had a seizure at the parks? Yep. It has happened. And, yes, I got wheeled out on the tiny little ambulance. Am I a danger at the parks? I don't think so. But it all depends on the type of seizure that one gets. I think lots of people get the wrong idea of what they look like. Not all seizures are the "shake, drop on the floor and drool" sort of ones - and even those are necessarily a danger to others. The ones that I think are really dangerous are absence seizures - especially if someone is driving. That's what seems dangerous to me. As I said though, I have learned from my mistakes and now take precautions (although sometimes you just can't help being who you are).

With regards to seizure dogs: They are very hard to find/train/get. I thought about getting one, but they are not as easy to train/find as a seeing eye or disability dog. A seizure dog has to be extremely sensitive to the person and very well trained. In this person's condition, a dog may work, but be aware that they are hard to find.

There is an Epilepsy Foundation in Miami, but not in Orlando. The epilepsy assistance group in Orlando is called the Epilepsy Association of Central Florida . She may want to get in contact with them for some support (both physical/financial and mental)

If you have any other questions or if your friend ever needs someone to talk to, feel free to pm me, as I have lots of experience and empathy with Disney and epilepsy.

[disneymom9092]

As an RN and someone who has taken a child with epilepsy to WDW twice, I feel the need to respond here. Since I was responsible for my son's BFF, I always made sure of certain precautions. Ryan only had seizures at night. However I also made sure he ALWAYS took his meds 4 times a day and on time. However I also made sure he took certain precautions-such as closing his eyes at the start of space mountain with the flashing lights, etc. as these things can bring on seizures.

However, my biggest fear wasn't how he would harm others (honestly never considered that), but what if he fell and hit his head on the concrete and had a severe head injury? That could occur at resort or at a park-and especially if his seizures weren't well controlled (thank goodness they were during the day). But I was responsible for him as he was traveling with us. My gut feeling was that since your friend had many seizures on property Will (or at least that is what I thought from reading your first post) is that maybe Disney was concerned with her history of seizures on property and her personal safety. Plus let's face it-people sue Disney for far less significant reasons-not that I am suggesting your friend would do this at all. But since we don't know the exact reason this was initially given, I can only speculate why this happened.

That being said, I want to say how happy I am that your friend's issue with WDW has been resolved and I hope she enjoys many times at WDW and it helps her tremendously. I just hope she can get her seizures under control for her personal health. Just so you all know-Andrew's friend Ryan passed away in his sleep 18 months ago at age 20 due to a seizure. Praying your friend gets them under control soon. RIP Ryan

[EddieCVS]

Originally Posted by Pax

What risk, exactly, do you think an epileptic poses to others?

And what risk do you think she poses to herself, that is not present everywhere else on the planet earth, in light of WillCAD's assertion that she doesn't go on the rides?

If she is traveling alone there are many risks for herself and others. I have a situation myself that I am at risk every day, so I have to take precautions to avoid as much as possible. With crowds of people anything can happen, so it is risky. You can hurt another unintentionally during a seizure.This is from epilepsy.com:

<LI id=tab_wiki_tabs_0 class="first ui-tabs-selected">Epilepsy.com Content<LI id=tab_wiki_tabs_1 class=last>Wiki Content

• Safety should be a concern for everyone, of course, but people with epilepsy often need to take extra precautions. These safety measures fall into two categories:
  
  
  

• Protection against harm to the person having the seizure, directly resulting from falling or loss of consciousness
• Protection against seizure-related accidents that may also harm other people

[Eeyore Tattoo]

Originally Posted by Bluegrrl

I am a new poster, but I think I can add a smidgen of advice to this interesting discussion (before ya'll get tired of it!).

I am an epileptic (or, rather, I have epilepsy/seizure disorder.) Mine is inheritable (juvenile myoclonic epilepsy) and it expressed itself when I was 20.

Anyway, I go to Disney all the time. Like the OP's friend, I live in FL and love going to Disney. Here's the deal: I AM lucky, in that I am very well controlled and can even drive. But that doesn't mean I don't take precautions. I get lots of rest the night before I go to the parks, I don't watch the fireworks (or I watch them from a safe distance - like the Polynesian's beachfront), I take lots of breaks, I don't ride any rides that have strobe lights, etc. I also travel with others.

Have I had a seizure at the parks? Yep. It has happened. And, yes, I got wheeled out on the tiny little ambulance. Am I a danger at the parks? I don't think so. But it all depends on the type of seizure that one gets. I think lots of people get the wrong idea of what they look like. Not all seizures are the "shake, drop on the floor and drool" sort of ones - and even those are necessarily a danger to others. The ones that I think are really dangerous are absence seizures - especially if someone is driving. That's what seems dangerous to me. As I said though, I have learned from my mistakes and now take precautions (although sometimes you just can't help being who you are).

With regards to seizure dogs: They are very hard to find/train/get. I thought about getting one, but they are not as easy to train/find as a seeing eye or disability dog. A seizure dog has to be extremely sensitive to the person and very well trained. In this person's condition, a dog may work, but be aware that they are hard to find.

There is an Epilepsy Foundation in Miami, but not in Orlando. The epilepsy assistance group in Orlando is called the Epilepsy Association of Central Florida . She may want to get in contact with them for some support (both physical/financial and mental)

If you have any other questions or if your friend ever needs someone to talk to, feel free to pm me, as I have lots of experience and empathy with Disney and epilepsy.

Welcome to Passporters & thanks for your input.
I think you hit the nail on the head, Take precautions & take care of yourself..