SANTA ANA, Calif., Jan. 10 (UPI) -- A Telluride, Colo., family sued Walt Disney World Co. for injuries suffered in a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad collision at Disneyland, a report said.
The Orange County, Calif., suit brought last week claims Gerald Cope suffered a major back injury requiring surgery and incapacitating him for months. It also claims the injury forced Cope to sell his jewelry business.
Cope's wife, Norika, and their two children suffered bruises and "severe and permanent mental pain," the suit says, as a result of the July 2004 mishap in which two train cars bumped each other as one neared the station.
State investigators blamed a software glitch and an inexperienced operator for the accident on the Disneyland ride that had been reopened months earlier following a fatal accident.
In response to the suit, a Disneyland spokesman told The Los Angeles Times that, "We have repeatedly asked Mr. Cope for background information so we can evaluate his claim -- and we have yet to receive it."
