Denise Dunn, a Palm Beach County resident, filed a negligence lawsuit against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts on December 27, 2025, alleging she tripped over a raised walkway paver at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on April 28, 2022, and suffered permanent injuries.1BocaNewsNow. Palm Beach County Woman Sues Disney Claims Critical Park Injuries The Denise Dunn Disney lawsuit is now pending in Orange County, Florida, with a jury trial tentatively set for January 31, 2028.2Trellis.law. Uniform Order Setting Case for Jury Pretrial General, Dunn v. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
What Dunn Says Happened
According to the complaint, Dunn was walking through Disney’s Hollywood Studios on or about April 28, 2022, when she tripped over a raised paver and, in her words, “fell violently to the ground.”3Inside the Magic. Disney World Negligence Lawsuit The suit describes the uneven paver as an “unsafe condition” that created a tripping hazard for guests.1BocaNewsNow. Palm Beach County Woman Sues Disney Claims Critical Park Injuries
Dunn alleges she sustained “serious and permanent bodily injuries” and aggravation of pre-existing conditions.1BocaNewsNow. Palm Beach County Woman Sues Disney Claims Critical Park Injuries The complaint claims lasting physical pain, emotional distress, diminished quality of life, and ongoing medical treatment, and asserts that her medical expenses and disability are continuing and will likely require future care and hospitalization.4Boca Raton Jewish News. Palm Beach County Woman Sues Disney Over Alleged Park Injury
The Negligence Claim and Damages Sought
The complaint pleads a single cause of action: negligence. It alleges Disney failed to maintain reasonably safe premises and failed to warn guests about a hazard the company knew about or should have discovered through reasonable inspection.3Inside the Magic. Disney World Negligence Lawsuit Under Florida law, a paying park guest is a business invitee, a status that triggers a duty of reasonable care by the property owner.
Dunn seeks damages for pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, mental distress, rehabilitation costs, medical expenses, and loss of enjoyment of life.5WDWNT. Woman Sues Disneys Hollywood Studios After Fall The complaint requests an amount exceeding the court’s minimum jurisdictional threshold and demands a jury trial.4Boca Raton Jewish News. Palm Beach County Woman Sues Disney Over Alleged Park Injury Dunn is represented by Anthony J. Russo Jr. of The Russo Firm, a Delray Beach personal injury practice.1BocaNewsNow. Palm Beach County Woman Sues Disney Claims Critical Park Injuries
Why She Waited Until December 2025
Roughly three years and eight months separate the April 2022 fall from the December 2025 filing.1BocaNewsNow. Palm Beach County Woman Sues Disney Claims Critical Park Injuries That gap fits within Florida’s older statute of limitations for negligence. In March 2023, Governor DeSantis signed House Bill 837, which shortened the limitations period for negligence claims from four years to two.6Florida Senate. HB 837 The shorter deadline applies only to injuries occurring on or after March 24, 2023. Because Dunn’s fall predated the law, the prior four-year window still governed her claim, giving her until roughly April 2026 to file. Her December 2025 complaint landed inside that window with a few months to spare.
Where the Case Stands Now
Dunn originally filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court on December 27, 2025.1BocaNewsNow. Palm Beach County Woman Sues Disney Claims Critical Park Injuries Court records show the case was subsequently assigned to Orange County, where Disney’s theme parks sit, under case number 2026-CA-001818-O. It is categorized as a premises liability commercial matter and assigned to Judge Patricia L. Strowbridge.2Trellis.law. Uniform Order Setting Case for Jury Pretrial General, Dunn v. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
On February 23, 2026, the court issued a Uniform Trial and Case Management Order. A pretrial conference is scheduled for December 14, 2027, and the jury trial is set to begin January 31, 2028, in Courtroom 19-B at the Orange County Courthouse. Disney is represented by attorney Kurt Spengler. As of available records, no substantive response from Disney addressing the merits of the allegations has been publicly documented.2Trellis.law. Uniform Order Setting Case for Jury Pretrial General, Dunn v. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
How Florida Law Treats This Kind of Claim
Disney’s standard defense approach in trip-and-fall cases typically includes comparative negligence, arguing the guest was partly or fully responsible for the fall, and the “open and obvious” doctrine, which can undercut a property owner’s duty to warn about visible hazards.
Florida appellate courts have limited that second defense in some situations. In Aguiar v. Walt Disney World Hospitality, the Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court’s dismissal of a case in which a guest tripped on loose sidewalk caulking at Magic Kingdom. The court held that a property owner can still be liable for a dangerous condition even if the condition is visible, provided there is evidence the owner knew about the hazard and failed to fix it.7FindLaw. Aguiar v. Walt Disney World Hospitality Disney employees in that case had acknowledged the loose caulk was a tripping hazard and had been performing maintenance to remove it, which the appeals court found created a factual dispute for a jury.
That ruling matters for Dunn. If she can show Disney knew the raised paver was hazardous, or should have known through routine inspection, the paver’s visibility to guests would not by itself defeat her claim. Whether Disney took reasonable steps to repair the walkway or warn visitors is the kind of question a jury decides.