Oh, Goofy, what have you done now?
Katrina Amian Redfern Griffin was bent over, tying her daughter’s shoes during a trip to Disneyland in April 2022, when a park employee dressed as Goofy — the klutzy but lovable cartoon canine — barreled straight into her, according to a lawsuit she filed in Orange County Superior Court.
Then, she claims, he fell on top of her with all of his weight, driving her into the “hard cement floor.”
Griffin suffered “severe, traumatic, debilitating, and permanent” physical injuries from the collision, along with emotional pain and suffering, she said.
Now, Griffin is suing Disneyland, the unnamed employee inside the Goofy costume, and Goofy’s “handler,” another employee who was supposed to guide the big, silly character around the park to make sure he didn’t bump into anything, according to the lawsuit.
Representatives for Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening.
Personal injury lawsuits might not be the most pressing issue for Disney lawyers right now. The entertainment empire is embroiled in a number of high-profile legal battles that have placed it on the front lines of the nation’s culture wars.
The movie division fired actor Gina Carano from the film “The Mandalorian” in 2021 after her social media posts questioned the results of the 2020 election and likened the treatment of American conservatives to German Jews during the Holocaust.
Carano, in turn, sued Disney for wrongful termination, claiming she had been fired for standing up to the “online bully mob who demanded her compliance with their extreme progressive ideology.”
In Florida, Disney is fighting an extended court battle with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who took political control of the land upon which Walt Disney World sits after company officials opposed the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades.
But even as other issues swirl, injuries at Disney theme parks, the company’s bread and butter, have continued to make headlines.
In October, Emma McGuinness sued Walt Disney World, claiming she had suffered a nightmarish “wedgie” on the park’s Humunga Kowabunga water slide.
Online marketing for the slide promises the “ride of your life” and that “you won’t know what’s coming as you zoom 214 feet downhill in the dark and spray your way to a surprise ending!”
McGuinness’ surprise was severe and permanent bodily injury, according to her lawsuit.
Specifically, when she neared the pool at the bottom of the giant drop, her legs came uncrossed, allowing clothes and water to be “violently forced inside her” by the impact.
She went to the hospital with severe vaginal lacerations and her bowel protruding through her abdominal wall, among other internal injuries, the suit claimed.
Griffin, the woman who said she was bowled over by Goofy at Disneyland, did not provide details of her physical injuries in her lawsuit.
She is asking Disney to pay for her medical bills and lost earnings and to compensate her for the physical, mental and emotional pain she says she suffered.
Neither Griffin nor her attorney could be reached for comment on Friday.
