See, this all started when a 74-year-old grandmother from Arizona, who goes by the name Pamela Morrison, went to Universal Studios Hollywood back in September 2022. At that time, she was visiting this park with her grandson to enjoy the fun that this park has to offer. Well, so far, it was a fun day for both of them, but then Pamela got badly hurt during a ride in this park, and that was because of the negligence of the staff member, and that’s what caused her serious injury. So no wonder she went down the legal route to hold them accountable, and that’s precisely why we saw this Pamela Morrison Universal Studios Lawsuit which was in the headlines a lot recently.
What’s This Ride All About?
Back then, when Pamela and her grandson were at the park, they decided to go on a fun-looking ride that’s called something like Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. And it wasn’t actually some new ride, it had been there since 2016 and so many people were lining up to take this ride because it was kinda popular in the park. Why? Well, if you are a Harry Potter fan, then this ride makes you feel like you’re flying through different scenes of Harry Potter movies, and that’s the special bit about it all.
With this ride, there is a special ride vehicle, where if a person sits in it, their legs hang down while there is a proper harness in place to keep them safe during the ride, you know so that they don’t fall down during the ride. So it works like this: The hang down with the help of the harness, and the floor also moves like a big treadmill, which gives like an illusion that makes you feel like you’re flying.
The Moment Everything Went Sideways
Well, when Pamela and her grandson took this ride, some staff member told her to get off the ride because her harness didn’t look correctly safe and locked. Though, when she tried to step off the ride, her feet landed on the still-moving walkway while the other landed on the solid, you know, not-moving floor. And if you know how momentum works, surely, she fell, and she fell HARD. What then? Oh, well, this accident was so severe that she ended up with a broken lower back, torn muscles near her hip, and other injuries too.
What Happened Next Then?
Well, from the very start, Universal Studios said that it wasn’t their fault, but in reality, it really was their fault because the staff member should have stopped the moving walkway too considering the fact that Pamela’s harness wasn’t locked properly already.
So yes, Pamela took this matter to court, and sure enough, after hearing everything, the jury decided that it was actually Universal Studios that was at fault. And came to the conclusion on 14th February 2025, when we saw that Pamela walked out with a $7.25 million award, which covers everything for her, like the trauma she went through and the future medical bills.