Fight at Disneyworld Leaves one Worker Unconscious, Another Arrested

Safety at Work

Bay Lake, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) – A fight on a construction site at Florida’s Walt Disney World resort left one employee hospitalized and another in handcuffs, officials at the park said.

On Nov. 17, police said a fight at the future location of Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge, the next Disney Vacation Club Resort broke out between the two employees. According to the report, deputies responded to reports of an unconscious man at the Disney-owned site of the future Lakeshore Lodge.

According to police reports, Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded around 12:39 p.m. and found an unconscious male worker. The injured worker was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Officers also found multiple construction workers  restraining the alleged attacker, identified by police as Gerardo Ariel Caballero Velasquez. The suspect was seated on a golf cart with a deputy on one side and another worker on the other to prevent him from leaving.

Officers said Velasquez was a construction worker assigned to the 7th floor of the building under construction. He indicated that he and another worker, Yosef, had gotten into an argument. When Yosef reached for a hammer, Velasquez said he tried to wrestle it away and that he had punched Yosef multiple times while trying to get the hammer away from him.

He indicated he’d cut his right finger during the struggle, but he refused medical treatment and said he’d left the area to get away from Yosef.

However, deputies said video surveillance showed that Velasquez was the instigator. The video showed Velasquez pushing Yosef who did not retaliate. Instead, Velasquez continued to attack Yosef, kicking him in the leg, putting him in a chokehold and throwing him to the ground and punching him several times in the head and back.

The video also showed that Velasquez forced Yosef’s head against the floor until Yosef eventually stood up and tried to push Velasquez away, but Velasquez continued to shove Yosef until he got tired of the interaction and walked away from Yosef. Deputies said they found no evidence of a hammer in the area.

Velasquez was arrested for felony battery and transported to the Orange County Booking Center. Disney security issued Velasquez a trespass warning, barring him for the theme park.

A November 2024 report from allears.net, a Disney fan news site, said the theme parks reported incident rate is 7.66 employees injured per every 100 full-time equivalent workers. With over 38,500 workers, that amounts to nearly 3,000 injured workers per year.

Disney’s injury rate has risen from 6.5 per 100 employees in 2018 to 7.7 in 2023. Its incident rate is high compared to smaller parks, it is still lower compared to some major competitors, the report said. Dollywood’s HeartSong Resort in Tennessee has an injury rate of 9.86 per 100 employees, while WonderWorks Orlando’s rate was 16.8 per 100 employees in 2023. In contrast, Universal Orlando Resort’s rate is 5.1 per 100 employees, while LEGOLAND Florida Resort is even lower at 2.97 incidents per 100 employees.

The majority of injuries come from mechanical risks, crowd management and environmental exposures.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it doesn’t keep statistics for theme parks but includes those injuries within the broader “entertainment and recreation” industry. For that industry, the BLS said there is an injury rate of 4.3 injuries per 100 full-time workers. BLS bases its reports on workplace injuries and illnesses, and not guest injuries.

Entertainment and recreation is second on the BLS’ list of the most dangerous professions.

The first, with an injury rate of 4.5 injuries per every 100 employees, was transportation and warehousing. Most of those injuries involved heavy machinery, long hours and unpredictable conditions.

“The world of entertainment and recreation is - somewhat surprisingly - the second most hazardous industry, with an incidence rate of 4.3 injuries per 100,” said a report in HR Dive. “The risks, especially in amusement parks and physical performances, help explain why it’s second on the list.”

The next most dangerous jobs included agriculture at 4.2 injuries, then healthcare and social assistance at 3.6 injuries, and the retail sector at 3.1 injuries.

Rounding out the top 10 most dangerous jobs was manufacturing at 2.8 injuries per 100 workers; accommodation and food services at 2.7 injuries; construction with a rate of 2.3 injuries; wholesale trades with an injury rate of 2.3, and real estate and rental industry with a rate of 2.

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