So, like, at Disney Springs on the 18th of October 2023, there was a really sad event. Just to give you an idea, well, Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan took her husband Jeffrey Piccolo and her mother to Raglan Road, which is an Irish restaurant located at Disney Springs. Dr. Tangsuan, who has severe allergies to nuts and dairy, told the restaurant she needed to be careful about her food. As expected, the staff assured her that her order would be completely allergen-free as this is a standard procedure in both Disney parks and Raglan Road. Sadly, after the meal, Dr. Tangsuan experienced a series of serious symptoms related to an allergy. She hurriedly used her EpiPen and was taken to a medical facility but unfortunately, she lost her life that night owing to an anaphylaxis event which was triggered by some dairy and nuts.
In February 2024, her husband, the one and only Jeffrey Piccolo took a march against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Raglan Road because of her wife’s death and is requesting the sum of $50,000. The lawsuit believes that both companies were responsible for the death of Dr. Tangsuan, right after they had made such statements that the meal could be eaten without fear of allergy-related issues and finally, this led to her untimely death. And that’s why there is this Disney World Wrongful Death Lawsuit in the picture.
Why Did Disney Attempt to Avoid Court?
When Piccolo went ahead and filed his legal action, Disney, instead of going to the court, urged a motion to transfer the case to arbitration, which is a common way to resolve disputes out of court, you know? And just to give you a perspective on things, well, in an arbitration hearing, a third party determines who is right and who is wrong using non-jury hearings, and the decision made by them is inalienable. Disney insisted that Piccolo had previously consented to arbitration while filling out the contract on the occasion of his signing up for the trial program of Disney+ in 2019. According to Disney, resolving all disputes through arbitration was a condition stated in the contract terms. Besides, Disney referred to the same specifics in the ticket purchase of Piccolo’s Epcot Center, saying that these also played a part in barring him from going to court.
However, the legal team for Piccolo was quick to hit back at this unfairness in the case, stressing that Piccolo had previously canceled his Disney+ trial before its end and that the legal terms of Disney were not an exact fit for this situation. They also claimed that the terms of the Epcot ticket do give the right to file lawsuits in certain cases which confirmed the inconsistency in Disney’s policies.
What’s Next In This Disney World Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
If you aren’t keeping up with this lawsuit yet, well, just so you know, the judge has scheduled the case for later this year. The matter of whether or not Disney and Raglan Road are legally liable for Dr. Tangsuan’s death will be decided by a jury at this trial after both parties have made their presentations in the context of court. It could render a very strong precedent for wrongful death and consumer rights cases, thus changing how companies deal with customer disputes in the future, you know? All in all, public interest in the case, which some fans expect to see how Disney responds and under what conditions the trial’s outcome will impact others, is expected to continue as the case progresses, so that would be kinda interesting to see.
