Disney is currently involved in a legal battle over a wrongful death lawsuit, with the company asserting that by signing up for their streaming service, a New York doctor’s family member waived the right to sue the entertainment giant. The lawsuit involves a 42-year-old doctor who tragically had a fatal allergic reaction after dining at an Irish pub in Disney Springs last October.
Disney is seeking to have the lawsuit filed by the doctor’s widow, Jeffrey Piccolo, dismissed in a Florida court. The company argues that Piccolo had agreed to resolve any disputes through arbitration when he signed up for a one-month trial of Disney+ in 2019 and acknowledged the terms and conditions, including a binding arbitration clause.
In response to this argument, Piccolo’s lawyer refuted the notion that subscribing to Disney+ would waive consumers’ rights to pursue legal action against Disney indefinitely. The lawyer argued that such a provision would be grossly unfair and unreasonable, highlighting that millions of Disney+ subscribers may unknowingly be affected by this clause.
The details of the case reveal that the doctor, Kanokporn Tangsuan, suffered a severe allergic reaction after eating at the Raglan Road Irish Pub in Disney Springs, despite notifying the server multiple times about her allergies and requesting allergen-free food. Tragically, Tangsuan passed away at the hospital due to anaphylaxis induced by elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system after consuming the food at the pub.
The lawsuit further claims that the server assured the family that the food was allergen-free, even though some items were not labeled as such. An upcoming hearing is scheduled on Disney’s motion in county court in Orlando, with Piccolo seeking over $50,000 in damages related to the incident. Representatives for Disney and the pub in question did not immediately respond to requests for comments on the matter.