Passengers Stuck on Harry Potter Ride for Over an Hour Are Suing Universal Studios Hollywood

Four people are suing Universal Studios Hollywood, alleging that they were left stranded on the “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” ride for over an hour and sustained injuries as a result.

According to documents obtained by PEOPLE, Debra Biane, Gerald Scott Biane, Josh Taylorson and Sami-Joh Goldberg claim they “were left in a position which subjected them to severe injuries for an unreasonable and dangerous amount of time” when they rode the attraction on April 7, 2022.

The complaint says that while they were on the ride, the ride vehicle "suddenly, and without warning came to an abrupt stop, stranding their cart midair at an angle that left them tilted backward and to the right." 

It alleges that they were then stuck in the position for approximately an hour, after which the cart was moved to an upright position. Approximately 30 minutes later, the cart was moved to the catwalk and they were able to exit the ride.

They claim that due to the park's "negligence" they "suffered severe injuries, and incurred medical expenses and general damages in an amount to be proven at the time of trial,” according to the complaint.

The complaint alleges that one of the plaintiffs, Debra Biane, underwent  “significant medical treatment, including surgery,” as a result of the incident, and “has been unable to perform the duties of a wife” to her husband, fellow plaintiff Gerald Scott Biane.

The married couple also “suffered serious emotional distress as a result of watching the other spouse being injured,” per the document.

PEOPLE reached out to Universal for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

The plaintiffs' legal team told PEOPLE in a statement, "We are thrilled to finally be able to have our clients’ claims adjudicated specially in light of their extensive injuries and the egregiousness of Defendant's actions or lack thereof."

"We have reason to believe that defendants negligently and willingly continued to operate the Harry Potter ride despite being fully aware of its ongoing malfunction and without taking any steps to put their patrons on notice," the statement added, echoing claims made in the complaint.

The day of the incident in 2022, ABC 7 reported that a power outage in Los Angeles left nearly a dozen people stuck on another ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. 

According to the outlet, the Los Angeles County Fire Department learned that 11 people were stranded on the theme park's "Transformers" ride. In aerial footage, LACOFD units could be seen swarming the north side of Universal Studios, the area affected by the outage, ABC added, noting that a ride in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter area was also impacted.

The complaint accuses Universal of "failing to provide proper backups such as generators in case of a power outage; failing to properly maintain backups such as generators in case of a power outage; permitting rollercoasters to operate when power outages were occurring; failing to warn customers of rolling power outages" and "failing to implement policies and procedures to safely and timely remove customers from rollercoasters in cases of power outages."

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“Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” is the signature attraction at the California version of the Wizarding World, which opened at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2016.

Universal’s website describes the ride as a “thrilling adventure,” during which riders enter Hogwarts through the “towering castle gates” and travel through the “familiar passageways and corridors” of the school of witchcraft and wizardry, before they “soar above the castle grounds." The dark ride uses a vehicle mechanism in which riders legs dangle below them in order to simulate flying.

Universal categorizes it as a "Thrill, Motion Simulation" attraction and notes visitors must be 48" tall to ride.