Brothers Derrick and Erick Burrough are suing Universal Orlando Resort after allegedly suffering “significant” neck and back injuries on the new 'Harry Potter' ride
Credit: Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Twin brothers allege they were injured on Epic Universe’s new Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry ride
- Derrick and Erick Burrough, 45, are suing Universal Orlando Resort for damages of over $50,000
- They claim they were “thrusted erratically” in their seats, causing them to suffer “significant” neck and back injuries
Two brothers are suing Universal Orlando Resort for more than $50,000 in damages, alleging they were injured on Epic Universe’s new Harry Potter ride.
Twins Derrick and Erick Burrough, 45, filed separate lawsuits against Universal, claiming they were injured on the Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry ride, according to legal documents obtained by PEOPLE on Tuesday, Feb. 24. The ride is in an elevator simulation with a 16-passenger vehicle that moves parkgoers up, down, forward, backward and sideways throughout the Ministry of Magic.
The Burroughs, who were at the park on Christmas Day with their families, allege they were on the ride when it malfunctioned and stopped abruptly. They were “thrusted erratically” in their seats, causing them to suffer “significant” neck and back injuries.
PEOPLE reached out to Universal Studios for comment.
Credit: Thomas Simonetti/Bloomberg via Getty
They both claim in the suit that as a result of the injuries they have suffered, “loss of ability to lead and enjoy a normal life.
The Burrough brothers are seeking damages for the financial repercussions: “expense of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment; past lost wages, loss of earning power, diminished earning capacity; loss of ability to lead and enjoy a normal life; losses are permanent or continuing and plaintiff will suffer in the future."
Additionally, the suit states they are seeking treatment for their injuries, which are “impacting their everyday lives,” their attorney John Morgan said in a statement, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
They allegedly suffered “bodily and terminal injury, including a permanent injury; pain and suffering of both a physical and mental nature; disability, physical impairment, disfigurement, mental anguish, inconvenience; loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life; aggravation of an existing condition,” per the lawsuit.
Morgan told the Orlando Sentinel that the lawsuits were filed to “hold Universal accountable for a safety incident we allege was entirely preventable.”
“The most important job of a theme park is to keep its guests safe. Instead, Universal allegedly operated a ride that had been plagued by repeated malfunctions, glitches and hard stops since it opened,” Morgan said.
The lawsuits allege Universal was negligent in maintaining the ride “in a reasonably safe condition” and “warn of any dangerous conditions about which it knew or should have known about."
These claims join a list of other lawsuits against the company and the injuries parkgoers have sustained on Universal Studios Hollywood's Harry Potter ride, “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.”
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In February 2025, 74-year-old Pamela Morrison was awarded $7.25 million in damages from Universal Studios after suffering a spine injury on the ride in September 2022.
Debra Biane, Gerald Scott Biane, Josh Taylorson and Sami-Joh Goldberg sued the amusement park, alleging they were left stranded on the same ride in April 2022. They claim they were on the ride for over an hour and sustained injuries as a result.
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