Morgan & Morgan Wins $8.15 Million Verdict Against Busch Gardens

[Tampa, FL] – A Hillsborough County jury awarded the family of a young minor a $8,154,350.75 verdict for the injuries he sustained while visiting the amusement park, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Represented by Morgan & Morgan attorneys Paul Fulmer, Grant Gillenwater, Bora Kayan and Megan Tiralosi, the plaintiffs declined the defendants pre-trial settlement offer of $40,000 before ultimately being awarded the multi-million dollar verdict. 

In September 2022, the plaintiff was attending Busch Garden during their annual Howl-O-Scream event. The amusement park had left the doors to their Stanleyville Theater unlocked and unattended, allowing the plaintiff to easily gain access to the stage and the acrobatic trampoline. He fell off the trampoline sustaining blunt force trauma that lacerated his chin, liver, and right kidney, resulting in loss of function of his kidney.

“A young child will now have to endure renal protective measures for the rest of his life, limiting what he can eat, what sports he can play, and what medications he can take,” said Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney Paul Fulmer. “We are glad the jury was able to recognize the amusement park’s role in causing our client’s lifelong injuries and provided him with the justice he deserves.”

The jury found the plaintiffs were subjected to comparative fault, contributing 35% to the cause of the minor’s injuries, which results in a final verdict of $5,300,328 for the plaintiff.

This case was heard by Judge Melissa M. Polo in the Circuit Court of the 13th Judicial Circuit in and for Hillsborough County, FL, Case No. 2023-CA-002175. The defense was represented by Robert Blank, Carie Hall, Passion Wells of RumbergerKirk.