A Georgia mother is accusing Universal Orlando Resort of negligence after her 9-year-old son suffered permanent injuries while riding the popular Stardust Racers roller coaster at the Epic Universe theme park, a lawsuit says.
Jennifer Lundy, of Valdosta, Ga., argues Universal failed to add improved safety features to Stardust Racers after the death of Kissimmee resident Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, who was fatally injured on the coaster last year — but Universal alleges it was she who was negligent in failing to use reasonable care for her son’s safety.
Lundy’s Orlando-based attorney, Nicholas Spetsas, strongly pushed back Tuesday on any notion his client was negligent towards her son.
“It’s appalling that a company creates a ride that has a vast history of injuries … and a death … and then they go and blame a parent for allowing their child to enjoy a ride that was marketed to whoever meets the requirements of that ride,” he said.
Lundy sued Universal Orlando Resort for negligence on Aug. 17 in Orange County Circuit Court, and the case was transferred to federal court the following month. Mack Rides, a German-based company that designed and manufactured Stardust Racers, is a co-defendant in the suit.
Stardust Racers within Celestial Park at Universal Epic Universe was already the subject of a lawsuit over the death of a man on the ride in 2025. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
The suit states that Lundy’s son rode the coaster with his father on Oct. 13, 2025, but lost consciousness due to the forces generated by the attraction, causing his head and face to be thrown against the hard surfaces of the ride vehicle. Spetsas added that the boy’s parents took him to seek treatment with the theme park’s health services personnel before later taking him to a hospital.
A snapshot taken from the coaster’s onboard cameras that photographs riders, included as evidence in the suit, appears to show the boy slumped over in his seat.
Spetsas said the boy suffered lifelong injuries, adding that he has been unable to physically attend school since the incident, is undergoing physical therapy to learn how to walk properly again and suffers from chronic back pain. The suit says he suffered head, neck, spinal and neurological injuries.
Lundy is seeking over $75,000 in damages to pay for her son’s past and continued medical treatment. The suit argues he has suffered “disability, disfigurement … loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life in the past and future … and loss of the ability to earn money in the future.”
The suit claims her son’s injuries resulted from inadequate safety features on the roller coaster — a ride that reaches speeds of 62 mph and rises up to 133 feet — which only uses a lap bar to restrain riders. She argues that feature alone isn’t enough to protect a rider’s upper-body if they lose consciousness.
The suit cited the death of Rodriguez Zavala, a Kissimmee man who had died the month before her son went on the coaster, and criticized the fact that the ride’s restraint system hadn’t been updated afterwards.
Zavala had a spinal condition since birth and used a wheelchair, his family said. On Sept. 17, 2025, while riding Stardust Racers, Zavala was flung forward, his head slamming into the seat in front of him repeatedly. When the ride ended, he was unconscious, covered with blood and one of his legs was broken, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office,
The Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled that Zavala’s death was an accident and caused by “multiple blunt impact injuries.”
Universal shut down the coaster and reopened on Oct. 4, 2025, just a over a week before Lundy’s son was allegedly injured on it. Universal updated its procedures and signs to reinforce existing warnings for “physical eligibility requirements” of riders, but did not add any new physical safety features to the ride itself.
Zavala’s family reached an “amicable settlement” with Universal in December. A statement from their attorney, Ben Crump, did not say whether the company would pay the family, or if so, how much.
Universal said in a court filing responding to Lundy’s claims that she had knowingly and voluntarily assumed the risks associated with her son riding a thrill ride, including the potential for significant acceleration and deceleration and head and body movements associated with such attractions.
The theme park also said Lundy was negligent in failing to use reasonable care for her son’s safety, and that this caused or contributed to the alleged incident. Further, she failed to ensure her son followed posted warnings and instructions for the attraction, and that also caused or contributed to his alleged injuries, the suit said.
Universal also added that the injuries were caused in whole or in part by pre-existing or unrelated medical conditions.
Spetsas countered that the son had no pre-existing medical conditions, met the height requirements for the ride, sat where ride attendants told him to sit and “did everything right.”
Spetsas has previously represented at least five people who sued Universal in the aftermath of Rodriguez Zavala’s death. They alleged they suffered injuries ranging from bleeding of the brain, spinal cord damage and paralysis after their heads slammed repeatedly against the seat in front of them while riding Stardust Racers.
Spetsas said some of those cases have been resolved, although he did not give details as to how.
But he added that Universal had been “responsive” to his clients’ claims, which leads him to be optimistic that he can reach similar resolutions in his ongoing four cases involving Stardust Racers, including Lundy’s.
A Universal spokesperson declined to comment when reached Tuesday.