The family of a Missouri teen who fell more than 200 feet to his death while riding a thrill ride at a Florida amusement park has been awarded $310 million in compensation for a freak accident in 2022. Ta. This is because the heartbroken parents blamed the vehicle manufacturer, which did not show its face at the trial.
The grieving parents of Taia Sampson sat in an Orlando courtroom Thursday as Austria-based amusement park manufacturer Funtime Handels was ordered to pay compensation in their civil wrongful death lawsuit.
The family emotionally celebrated the verdict, which brought an end to nearly three years of court ordeals.
“Today we have our day in court, and this $310 million verdict sends a great message of accountability,” said family attorney Ben Crump. Fox 35 Orlando.
Funtime was ordered to pay Sampson's mother, Mekia Dodd, and father, Yarnell Sampson, a total of $155 million in two installments.
Sampson, 14, was traveling to the Sunshine State with friends for spring break when the group visited Icon Park on March 24, 2022.
The high school football standout, who weighed well over 300 pounds, was 98 pounds over the ride's limit of 287 pounds, requiring park staff to manually adjust the seat to fit his body. Despite this, we were allowed to ride the Orlando Freefall.
The attraction is a 430-foot-tall drop tower that lifts riders to the top and then tilts them forward slightly for a dramatic drop.
During a free fall that reached speeds of 115 miles per hour, Sampson slipped from his restraints and died.
The elder Sampson and Dodd filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Funtime, owner-operator Slingshot Group, and Icon Park in April 2022, a month after the videotaped death.
The family settled with the park and operator for an undisclosed amount in March 2023.
An autopsy report confirmed that Sampson suffered traumatic internal injuries to his head, neck and torso.
Austria-based company Funtime had no representation in court for Thursday's sentencing, frustrating Sampson's parents.
“I wanted them to apologize to me face to face,” Nekia Dodd, the boy's mother, said after the hearing, according to Fox Orlando. “I didn't understand anything about it. There was no apology, nothing.”
The company, which is based overseas, faces additional fees and risks losing its license to operate in the United States if it does not pay the court-ordered $310 million.
“They might try to fight it and say our judicial system can't make a decision there,” Michael Haggard, another attorney for the Sampson family, said, according to the newspaper. “But they do business here, and the Department of Commerce…the Department of State can step in and say, if they don't recognize the U.S. ruling, don't do business here.”
This dangerous attraction was destroyed on March 15, 2023, and Dodd witnessed its destruction.
“Unfortunately, I wasn't by his side when he passed away. That's why I had to do this,” says heartbroken mother told reporters at that time. “I didn't want to be in this situation, but…I had to. I have to say that my feelings are over.”
