ORLANDO, Fla. — Walt Disney World is now being sued over last July's deadly monorail crash.
The family of monorail driver, Austin Wuennenberg, filed the lawsuit saying Disney failed to follow its own safety procedures before the crash. The lawsuit does not currently ask for any specific dollar amount.
The attorney for Austin Wuennenberg's mother told WFTV Monday, the damages will be decided by a jury.
In the lawsuit, the attorney claims Disney intentionally told monorail pilots not to follow certain safety precautions that might have prevented Wuennenberg's death.
Austin Wuennenberg, 21, was doing a job family and friends say he loved, when he was killed last summer on the Disney monorail.
Now, a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his mother says Disney failed to follow monorail safety procedures; a failure that lawyers claim led to her son's death.
"He truly loved his job. He loved working there. He loved his friends," Wuennenberg's aunt Penny Shanahan said.
Last summer, Wuennenberg's aunt said the Stetson University senior's fellow Disney castmembers pulled him out of his shell.
But around 2:00am on July 5, a pink monorail train was changing tracks when it backed right into the purple train Wuennenberg was piloting. He was immediately killed.
Sources told WFTV the manager responsible for monitoring trains had taken a break at a nearby Denny's restaurant when the crash happened, leaving only a maintenance man to supervise switching.
Lawyers claim Disney intentionally told pilots not to change cockpits when they were making a track switch because it took too much time.
"He was a great kid, exceptional and extraordinary, exemplifies Austin to me," Shanahan said.
A recently completed OSHA investigation found "serious" concerns. The agency cited Disney for failing to have a workplace free of deadly hazards. Another investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board continued Monday.
A spokesman for Disney said Monday afternoon that he couldn't comment on the new lawsuit because the open NTSB investigation is looking into essentially the same questions. He did again express the company's sympathy for the Wuennenberg family.
Previous Stories: July 30, 2009: Monorail Crash Investigators Focus On Training July 16, 2009: Disney Implements New Monorail Safety Rules July 10, 2009: NTSB Wraps Up Onsite Monorail Investigation July 10, 2009: Friend Issues Statement For Monorail Pilot Crash Survivor July 9, 2009: Sources: Monorail Workers Were At Denny's During Crash July 9, 2009: Family, Friends Say Goodbye To Monorail Pilot July 8, 2009: NTSB Releases Findings In Monorail Crash July 8, 2009: Ex-Monorail Pilot Gives Unique Perspective On Crash July 8, 2009: Home Video Shows Monorail Pilot's Love For Job July 7, 2009: Federal Agency Begins Monorail Crash Investigation July 6, 2009: Monorail Reopens After Young "Genius" Dies In Collision July 6, 2009: Aunt: Monorail Victim Was "The Perfect Son" July 6, 2009: Former Monorail Pilot Suspects Human Error In Crash July 6, 2009: Deadly Monorail Crash At Walt Disney World
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