A man named Galen Haldeman has just filed a lawsuit against Walt Disney World, claiming that he was bitten by a rat while exiting a ride in the theme park back in 2014.
The alleged attack took place in April of 2014, when Haldeman was 59 years old. He filed a lawsuit against Disney on March 19, 2018, seeking over $15,000 in damages for the bite, according to a report by DailyMail.
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In the court filings, Haldeman wrote that he was helping his wheelchair-bound wife exit the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin ride in Tomorrowland. From there, they wandered into the merchandise store just outside of the attraction, when a large rat ran in. The suit says that someone yelled “rat!” and kicked the animal, at which point it leapt up onto Carol Haldeman’s wheelchair. The animal climbed across a wheel, and looked like it was about to bite Carol’s arm when Galen intervened.
“Just as the rat was about to bite into Carol’s arm, Galen grabbed the rat and yanked it off the chair,” reads the lawsuit. “As he did so, the rat bit into one of Galen’s fingers. Galen had to twist the rat’s neck, and the rat fell to the floor where someone threw an empty plastic container over it.”
Disney employees rushed over to help the Haldemans, and they urged other visitors not to take pictures of the rat. Now, the Haldemans want retribution for their distress, as well as Galen’s injury.
“Disney violated its duty to keep its park clean and safe by allowing conditions to get to the point where rats were inhabiting the park and were even bold enough to come out openly, among people,” says the lawsuit.
The family claims that the damages they’re seeking, which total more than $15,000, would make up for Galen Haldeman’s medical expenses to treat the bite, as well as his ongoing physical handicap, disfigurement and mental anguish over the incident. Their attorney didn’t respond to DailyMail‘s inquiry for comment, nor did Disney.
