Investigation Continues into the Death of Worker at Epcot

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on March 25, 2019

It was early in March that a fatal incident happened to a worker who was in the process of trying to load a cherry picker into the back of a pickup truck while on the property of Epcot, the popular Disney tourist spot. The investigation into the incident remains ongoing, however recent findings suggest that the individual who died was not wearing the proper safety features when the fatal industrial accident occurred.

Deputies working with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office reported on the incident after an in-depth initial investigation. According to their findings, the individual who died in the incident that took place on Tuesday, March 12th, was a 58-year-old Winter Garden resident working at Epcot as part of a crew from SunBelt Rentals, a company that had been hired by Disney to perform work on part of the popular attraction’s backstage. The exact nature of the work to be done by the company was not included in the initial statements by the police.

Several witnesses that saw the 58-year-old in the moments leading up to the accident itself said that they noticed him climbing out of the cherry picker and into the driver’s seat of the pickup truck, then out of the truck and back into the cherry picker. The witnesses said that the man appeared to be disgruntled or upset about something, perhaps with the difficulty of accomplishing the loading of the cherry picker into the truck. The witnesses confirmed that it appeared as though the man was wearing no other safety equipment than some glasses.

Shortly afterwards, witnesses reported seeing the man flying through the air and then landing heavily in the ground. It is not clear what the authorities are considering to be the reason behind this sudden incident, but we do know that people rushed to the scene after they saw the man falling and found him lying on the ground behind the Morocco pavilion. Around his head was a significant puddle of blood.

At this time, the investigation into the incident remains ongoing. No charges are currently pending against either the Disney Corporation or the SunBelt Rentals company.

Sources:

• Man was operating cherry picker before fatal industrial accident at Epcot

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.