A Florida jury delivered a $US310 million ($A484m) verdict Thursday to the family of Tyre Sampson, the Missouri teenager who plunged to his death on a free-fall ride at an amusement park over two years ago.
The civil verdict, announced in an Orange County courtroom after roughly an hour of deliberation, was against the Austrian company that manufactured the ride, Funtime Handels GmbH.
“This verdict is a step forward in holding corporations accountable for the safety of their products,” family attorney Ben Crump said in a statement.
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“The jury’s decision confirms what we have long argued: Tyre’s death was the result of blatant negligence and a failure to prioritise safety over profits.”
The manufacturer did not send a representative to court, NBC affiliate WESH of Orlando reported, and no attorney was listed in court records. A company spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The damages, part of a wrongful death lawsuit the family filed one month after Tyre’s death on March 24, 2022, were split evenly between Tyre’s mother and father.
Tyre, 14, died while he was visiting Orlando’s ICON Park on spring break with his football team.
He weighed 383 pounds, nearly 100 pounds more than the ride’s 285-pound limit, and fell at least 100 feet from the ride, which had no seat belts, according to the lawsuit.
Tyre’s family reached a settlement last year with two other defendants named in the suit: ICON Park and Eagle Drop Slingshot, the ride’s owner. The settlement amount has not been disclosed.
The ride has been dismantled. In May 2023, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis signed the Tyre Sampson Act, which strengthens safety standards for amusement park rides.