An alligator attacked a two year old boy Tuesday night in front of his parents at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort in Orlando, Florida. The toddler is still missing. Reports state that the boy and his father were near the water’s edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon when and alligator grabbed and pulled the boy underwater. The father attempted to rescue his son by attempting to pry the alligator’s mouth open. The mother also jumped in to save her son. Both parents alerted a lifeguard who called 911. The attack happened just after 9:20 p.m. as the resort was hosting a “Movie under the Stars” event.
Maritime law holds the operator of a vessel owes all persons aboard the vessel a duty of reasonable care under the circumstances to avoid causing personal injury and to warn of any dangers of which he knows or should know. Kermarec v. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, 358 U.S. 625 (1959).
