Woman sues SeaWorld, says she was hit in the face by a duck on Mako coaster

A woman says she was hit in the face by a duck and knocked unconscious while riding SeaWorld Orlando’s fastest roller coaster, according to her new lawsuit.

Hillary Martin, an Orange County resident, filed the lawsuit this week in Orange Circuit Court.

Martin’s complaint said the March 24 incident happened on the Mako coaster that goes up to 72 mph.

Her lawsuit accused SeaWorld of creating “a zone of danger for bird strikes” because of the “high speed of the roller coaster,” which is located near water. The ride’s location “creates a higher risk of bird strikes involving ducks, gulls, geese, and other waterfowl” and was also designed in “such a way as to disorient waterfowls thereby increasing the risk of collision.”

The lawsuit doesn’t say what happened to the duck.

SeaWorld is not commenting on the litigation.

Last month, SeaWorld was sued by a family who said their 9-year-old girl was hit in the face by what they suspected was a vape battery accidentally dropped by another Mako rider. Since her injury, the child refuses to go to theme parks and flinches when a leaf falls near her, her lawyer told Florida Politics in an interview.

Orange Circuit Judge Margaret Schreiber recently granted SeaWorld’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, although the family can amend the complaint and refile it, according to court records.

The latest duck lawsuit is not the first time things have gone a-fowl at theme parks.

A Celebration woman sued Disney World in 2019 after she said she was dive-bombed by a bird while walking the dock at the Polynesian Village Resort near the Magic Kingdom in 2017. Her lawsuit has since been settled by terms not publicly disclosed, according to court records.

Fabio was also infamously hit by a goose on a coaster in 1999 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, which is owned by the same company as SeaWorld Orlando.

Mako opened in 2016 and is Orlando’s fastest and tallest roller coaster, going up 200 feet in the air. Coaster junkies love the ride for its smooth ride, air time and impressive views of Central Florida.