Almeida-Graves V. Seaworld Parks & Entertainment Llc

Case Background

Patricia Almeida-Graves filed a personal injury lawsuit against SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment L.L.C. after she fell while boarding a water slide raft. She claimed that the amusement park was liable for negligence. She filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Newport News). District Judge Elizabeth W. Hanes oversaw the case, with Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leonard handling referrals. [Case number: 4:22cv127]

Cause

Patricia Almeida-Graves, a New Jersey resident, visited Busch Gardens Water Country USA in Williamsburg, Virginia, on August 22, 2015. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, L.L.C., a Delaware-based company with its main office in Florida, owned and operated the park.

Around 11:00 a.m., Graves waited in the loading area for the Aquazoid water slide. The ride used inflatable rafts, each 6.5 feet in diameter and weighing approximately 40 pounds. Due to their size and weight, rafts traveled on a conveyor belt from the catch pool at the slide’s bottom to the loading tower. Once at the top, rafts moved onto an unmotorized roller system that slowed them before reaching a rubber bump stop. To prevent riders from getting caught in the conveyor motor’s moving parts, the wooden fence near it had narrow gaps. However, the fence near the roller assembly had wider gaps. A sign warned riders to stay clear of the conveyor motor, but no similar warning existed near the roller assembly. The conveyor system operated using electric sensors. When two rafts covered both sets of sensors, the conveyor shut off to prevent pileups. Ride attendants could restart the conveyor by