A New York woman is suing Disney resorts, claiming she was injured by a “mammoth wave” at the Typhoon Lagoon water park.
Kimberly Panetta, 45, of Dix Hills, N.Y., claimed she was on vacation with her family at Typhoon Lagoon, a Disney-owned water park in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., when the incident occurred in April 2022, according to a legal complaint filed in federal court in New York on April 11.
According to the complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Panetta claimed she was standing in a kiddie pool waiting for her young daughter to go down an age-appropriate slide when a “mammoth wave” from another area of the pool struck her from the side with such force that “it pummeled her.”
The complaint stated that her body “skidded across the cement or gunite, causing serious ‘road rash’ or scrapes that were severe and deep.”
Panetta is now seeking $2 million in damages for “medical care and treatment” and “mental anguish,” according to the complaint.
The complaint alleged that Panetta’s family vacation was “ruined” because “she was stuck limping around applying bandages, salves, and creams, and was forced to avoid swimming and enjoying planned visits to the parks.”
The complaint also stated that Panetta now has “scars” and “marks” on her legs that make her feel self-conscious, and that she no longer wears clothing that exposes her legs, even when it is “hot and uncomfortable.” The plaintiff also claimed this was a direct “result of negligence” on the part of the park.
Panetta complained that the park “should not have let the wave pool or ‘typhoon’ power waves enter the kiddie area and pummel the parents who [were] unwittingly waiting for their young children to descend.”
The complaint also stated that the barriers surrounding the children’s area “should have protected mothers standing at the bottom of the slide from being thrown, tossed, and pummeled by powerful waves.”
On Saturday, April 26, PEOPLE reached out to Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Panetta’s attorney for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
“It was so powerful it was actually dragging us under the water for several feet,” according to her. “I just thank God I had the foresight to push her [my daughter] up as I was being dragged.” I knew if she had been dragged, she would have been severely injured.”
“I felt pain immediately and I looked down and there was blood,” she told me. “You think you are in the happiest place on Earth and the safest place, but it is like being dragged on concrete — it is very rough.”
Panetta also told the outlet that her children, who were then three and seven years old, were “mortified” and shocked to see “blood pouring out of their mother.”
“We had all these plans, but we had to cancel them. I could not even get into the pool where we were staying. I had to stay indoors. “Everything was completely ruined,” she said.
Frank Panetta, Panetta’s husband, stated that their young daughter “would have definitely been hurt had my wife not held her up and taken the brunt of the injury,” and that his wife skidded “for 15 or 20 feet.”
He also told The Post that the resort only gave their family a $250 credit following the incident.