An Alabama woman is suing Universal in federal court after she said she was hurt riding Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit in 2021.

Annie Parrish moved her lawsuit from the Orange Circuit Court to the U.S. District Court this week.

She claims she got whiplash and had three herniated discs in her cervical spine after riding the Universal Studios roller coaster known for playing music while riders whizzed up to 65 mph. Universal shut down the ride earlier this year to make way for something new.

Parrish demanded $1 million from Universal to settle the lawsuit last year after incurring $18,500 in medical bills, court records showed.

Parrish’s attorney insisted the $1 million demand “is not mere puffery.”

The demand letter said Parrish went to the emergency room the same day she rode the coaster, complaining of severe neck pain.

“She described the pain as throbbing and 10/10 in severity,” according to the demand letter that was included in court records and detailed her list of treatments and medical visits.

Parrish said she “boarded the ride and secured her lap restraint,” but Universal employees “did not check the restraint and/or otherwise failed to fully secure Plaintiff into the ride,” according to her lawsuit initially filed in October 2025 in state court. “As a result of that failure, she was launched forward and unable to reposition her neck and head, causing significant injuries.”

Universal denied many of the allegations in her lawsuit.

“If Plaintiff was injured as alleged, she was fully aware of the risk,” Universal said in response to her lawsuit. “She expressly assumed all risk and is barred from recovery by express assumption of the risk.”

Universal also said Parrish “negligently and carelessly failed to follow the instructions and warnings for the ride and her own negligence caused or contributed to her injury.”

Universal and Parrish’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment Friday for this story.

Universal has been in the headlines over ride safety after a man with disabilities died after riding a roller coaster at the new Epic Universe theme park in September.

New media reports this week detailed the tragic circumstances of Kevin Rodriguez Zavala’s death.

His head had slammed into the seat in front of him repeatedly with blood splattering on his girlfriend who tried in vain to call for help as the ride went on. Rodriguez Zavala’s femur had been broken in half, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigated and said the 32-year-old’s death was accidental and no criminal charges will be filed.

Universal Orlando President Karen Irwin previously said Stardust Racers was operating properly at the time of his death and employees followed proper protocols.

“In addition, the ride system manufacturer of record and an independent, third-party roller coaster engineering expert conducted their own on-site testing and validated our findings,” Irwin wrote in a memo to employees this Fall.

In Panama City on Friday, state officials heard arguments for and against potential revisions to Florida Administrative Code Rule 64D-3.046.

Proposed changes, which are backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, include expanding opt-out provisions to include religious exemptions for personal and philosophical reasons, and removal of requirements to vaccinate for Varicella (chickenpox), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and Hepatitis B (Hep B) for schools as well as Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV15/20) for day care students.

Arguments abounded both to eliminate mandates and to protect the current requirements.

Susan Sweetin of the National Vaccine Information Center, appearing in her personal capacity, fought back tears as she said she was coerced into having her son get the Hep B vaccine, or else his pediatrician wouldn’t see him.

Cynthia Smith, a nurse, said she suffered hearing loss from childhood vaccines that impacted her work in school as a child and now in professional environments.

“This is not about being anti-medicine,” Smith said, arguing for “medical freedom.”

Larry Downs Jr. argued against MMR vaccines, saying that there’s no “measles outbreak” in America, as he said people don’t need a “permission slip from Big Daddy Government” to shun shots.

“What about the measles outbreak? How many (outbreaks) come from these shots from these injections? This is nonsense. The default setting should be freedom. You should not have to get a religious or personal objection,” Downs said.

Rick Frey attributed two of his child relatives’ “non-verbal” states to vaccines before attacking pediatricians.

“It’s obviously about freedom, but it’s also about the children that these pediatricians damage because they get paid to vaccinate these kids. And they’re here being paid, and they’re here to ensure that they’ll still make their money to get their bonus, to do this stuff. It’s just wrong on so many levels, and the smug way that they sit back there and act like they’re above all of us makes me want to throw up, to be honest with you,” Frey said.

Michelle Posey, a School Board candidate in Sarasota who also leads the local Turning Point USA chapter, said she didn’t want either side “demonizing” the other before expressing her own concerns.

“I have never, in my life, known of a product that is both safe and effective, and a miracle worker, and yet it requires a marketing campaign, a marketing blitz, immunity for those that build it, and some kind of incentive for those who inject it,” Posey said, arguing against mandates.

Dr. Frederick S Southwick, an Infectious Disease Specialist with decades of experience, spoke to the impact of bacterial meningitis.

“If you are ending that vaccine, it’s going to cause tremendous damage and cost the state $50 to $80 million,” he said.

Danielle Carter, the President of the Florida Academy of Family Physicians, argued that scientific evidence didn’t support the removal of vaccines, that they have reduced infections while facilitating “herd immunity.”

Joseph Harmon, representing the Conference of Catholic Bishops, criticized the proposed rule as “an improper expansion of what’s allowed by statute” and advocated no change.

Lewis Jennings spoke for NAACP chapters around the state when he condemned the proposal as a “direct threat to public health, equity, and civil rights.”

Jamie Schanbaum, who survived meningitis, described the consequences of the disease over the last 17 years since she had it.

“I’ve accumulated millions of dollars in hospital bills, months of physical therapy, and occupational therapy, not to mention I had my leg re-amputated last year. That was a good time. How about re-learning to use my hands, feed myself, wipe myself? This is the reality of what it’s like to survive something like this. And if I want to go and do any sport, I have to pay $30,000 just for the legs.”