Disabled man wins payout from Disneyland after getting stuck on ride

A disabled man has won an $8,000 (£5,276) payout from Disneyland after becoming stranded on a broken-down ride for half an hour.

Jose Martinez, a 52-year-od paraplegic, went to Disneyland with his wife for the first time since he was a child on 27 November, 2009.

He was reportedly having a great time before he became stuck on the It's A Small World ride for 30 minutes after it broke down.

He was then forced to listen to the ride's theme tune playing on repeat as he waited for assistance.

Santa Monica-based attorney David Geffen said it took three hours for Mr Martinez, who suffers from panic attacks and high blood pressure, to "medically stabilise".

According to the Express, he said Mr Martinez's situation was exacerbated by his need to urinate at the time.

Mr Geffen told the LA Times: "They started evacuating other guests and weren't evacuating him. They said they couldn't move him out of the cave.... They didn't summon the Fire Department right way."

Mr Geffen said half the award was for pain and suffering, and the rest was for a violation of disability law.

Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said the violations had been addressed, and that the park, in Anaheim, California, believes it provided all appropriate assistance during the incident, and is disappointed that the court did not fully agree.

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