A 9-year-old boy reportedly blacked out on Stardust Racers, and with nothing to hold up his head, his face was “thrown against the hard surface of the ride vehicle.” That’s what his mother claims in a lawsuit against Universal Orlando and Mack Rides, the German company that built Epic Universe’s headline coaster, and the fight is now playing out in federal court in Orlando.
Universal is pushing back hard, arguing in its own court filing that the family accepted the risks of a thrill ride. None of the claims have been proven.
What the Lawsuit Says Happened on the Ride
Jennifer Lundy filed the suit on August 17, 2026, in Orange County Circuit Court, case number 2026-CA-008764. It centers on a visit to Epic Universe on October 13, 2025, with her son, who was 9 at the time, according to People, which published details from the complaint on Monday. The boy met the coaster’s 48-inch height requirement, the suit says, but “lost consciousness as a result of the forces generated by the attraction.” Stardust Racers, a dueling launch coaster in Celestial Park, reaches 62 mph and climbs as high as 133 feet.
The complaint claims nothing restrained or supported his head, neck, or upper body while he was out, and that the ride left him with blunt impact injuries to his head and face along with orthopedic and spinal injuries. Lundy attached the coaster’s on-ride photo to the suit, saying it shows her son unconscious in the vehicle. According to the complaint, as described by WDW News Today, which first reported the filing on October 1, he needed medical help once he got off the ride. His mother calls the injuries severe and permanent.
The suit argues Universal owed her family and other guests a duty to run the coaster in a reasonably safe condition and to warn riders when an attraction is not safe. It also says the defendants knew or “should have known of the unsafe and unreasonably dangerous condition” of the ride. Lundy is asking for damages above $50,000, not counting court costs and attorney’s fees, plus payment of her son’s medical bills. That dollar figure is the minimum for a case to be heard in a Florida circuit court, so it says little about what a jury might ultimately be asked to award.
Universal Says the Family Accepted the Risk
Universal is not conceding anything. In its answer, first filed in the state case and attached when the company moved the lawsuit to federal court on September 18, Universal’s lawyers argued that the boy’s parents were negligent in failing to use reasonable care for his safety, and that this caused the incident and the injuries they describe. The answer also says Lundy “knowingly and voluntarily assumed the risks” that came with her son riding a thrill ride, “including the potential for significant acceleration, deceleration, lateral forces, and head and body movement.”
The new Epic Universe fireworks show, Celestial Goodnight – Universal
That defense lines up with the warnings Universal already posts for the ride. As FOX 35 Orlando noted in December 2025, Universal advises that Stardust Racers is not suitable for guests with back, neck, or similar conditions, and asks riders to keep an upright posture and support their torso, neck, and head during sudden movements.
Lundy’s attorney, Nicholas Spetsas, sees the case very differently. “This is one of many lawsuits our firm has filed over Stardust Racers alone,” he said in an emailed statement. “A ride that has been linked to a death and a growing list of serious injuries is not an unlucky coincidence; it is a pattern.” People said it had reached out to Universal and Mack Rides for comment.
How the Case Moved to Federal Court
The case is now Lundy v. Universal City Development Partners, Ltd., No. 6:26-cv-02109, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Universal City Development Partners, the company behind Universal Orlando, filed the notice of removal on September 18, 2026, pulling the suit out of Orange County Circuit Court on the basis that the parties are from different states or countries. Mack Rides GmbH & Co KG is the other defendant. The federal docket lists the case as a personal injury matter, and both sides have asked for a jury.
READ: Stardust Racers Reopens After Extended Closure at Universal’s Epic Universe
Judge Julie S. Sneed is presiding, with Magistrate Judge Robert M. Norway also assigned. Nicholas D. Freeman is lead counsel for Universal, and Spetsas is lead counsel for Lundy. On September 23, Sneed issued an initial order on case management and deadlines and told Universal to file a notice identifying its partners and their citizenship. That is a routine step in a removed case, because a federal court can only keep a lawsuit like this one if no plaintiff shares a home state with any defendant. Universal’s notice of removal carried the original state-court complaint and its answer along with it, so the federal judge now has both sides’ opening positions in front of her.
Earlier Suits and a Separate 2025 Case
Lundy is not the first rider to take Stardust Racers to court. FOX 35 reported that Sandi Streets sued in September 2025, claiming her head “shook violently and slammed into her seat’s headrest” on an April 2025 ride, and that North Carolina rider Debbie Reinelt filed suit that December, alleging a concussion, post-traumatic headaches, and neck pain after a ride in May. Reinelt’s complaint also claims the warning signs did not tell riders their heads could be slammed against the headrest. Those cases involve different riders and their own allegations.
The coaster’s most serious incident is a separate matter entirely. Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, 32, died on September 17, 2025, after riding Stardust Racers, ClickOrlando reported. The medical examiner found he suffered multiple blunt impact injuries and ruled the death an accident.
Tthe ride stayed closed until October 4, 2025, while Universal, Mack Rides, local and state officials, and independent examiners inspected it, and that the Orange County Sheriff’s Office found no criminal acts. On December 13, 2025, attorney Ben Crump announced that the family and Universal had reached “an amicable resolution,” with confidential terms.
Lundy’s complaint points to the Zavala incident, and her son’s ride came just nine days after the coaster reopened. But the two cases involve different riders on different dates, and the Zavala resolution says nothing about what happened to the boy on October 13. His mother’s claims will have to stand or fall on their own in federal court.
Should Universal add more head and neck support to Stardust Racers, or do thrill rides come with risks every guest accepts? Sound off and let us know!
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