ORLANDO, Fla. – A well-known Orlando attorney said Thursday that he has been retained by a family who claims a snake bit their 8-year-old son at Disney's Animal Kingdom, causing the boy's grandmother to go into cardiac arrest, which caused her death.
Matt Morgan said the incident occurred in October 2014 at the Walt Disney World theme park.
Morgan said he will file a formal lawsuit against Disney for the injuries sustained by the boy and the wrongful death of the woman. Morgan said the names of the family members are not being released at this time.
According to Morgan, the family claims that the snake escaped at the park and entered an area reserved for the general public. The family said the snake fell from a tree and bit the boy, according to Morgan.
Disney confirmed to News 6 that the boy was bitten by a snake at the park but said it was a wild, nonvenoumous snake, not part of the the park's collection.
Disney said the boy was treated by a park nurse, who put a Band-Aid on his finger, and the family went back into the park to enjoy the rest of their day.
The family said the boy's grandmother witnessed the incident, went into cardiac arrest and died a short time later, according to Morgan.
Disney did not address the woman's death, but a park representative said, "These allegations are an utter mischaracterization of the facts."
Morgan said he will investigate the incident through the court system.