Disney, tram-injured woman reach settlement

LOS ANGELES -- A Chinese woman who fell out of a moving Disneyland tram and suffered injuries that left her needing 24-hour medical supervision for the rest of her life has reached a settlement in a lawsuit she filed against the Walt Disney Co.

Lawyers for Qi Zhao and Disney reached the agreement Tuesday, bringing a two-week trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court to an abrupt end.

Details of the accord were not released.

Zhao, 48, filed her suit in 2007, alleging the tram driver was going too fast. She was riding the tram with two sisters and a niece. According to the complaint, one of the sisters fell from the King tram as it moved toward a parking lot.

Reacting to the fall, the other two sisters also fell out. One suffered minor injuries and Zhao hit her head on the pavement, suffering severe traumatic brain injuries and skull fractures and was in a coma for three weeks.

Her husband, Zuchun Wang, became a plaintiff last October, alleging loss of consortium.Zhao and her husband were born in China, but were living in Northern California when they visited the Anaheim theme park in February 2007.

Zhao is now being cared for in Beijing.Disney contended the tram was not moving too fast and had a device limiting its top speed to 11 mph.

Company officials said in a statement they were pleased to have resolved the case and said safety is their top priority.

The settlement came just as attorneys had begun their closing arguments. The judge told jurors of the resolution and dismissed them.

Zhao's two sisters settled their claims against Disney before the trial.

This article was provided by the Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fiw-disney-tram28-2009may28,0,1892583.story

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