A karate expert broke a haunted house worker’s jaw with a kick to the face and has now lost his lawsuit against an amusement park.
The man, has admitted to drinking before going into the haunted house at Toei Kyoto Studio Park in Kyoto, Japan. The karate expert argued that the park should have warned visitors that the ghosts were staff and not some other kind of effect. While in the haunted house, the karate expert reacted when a park worker, who was dressed as a ghost, jumped out to frighten him, cause that's what happens in a haunted house. The man, however was startled and kicked the “ghost” in the face, braking his jaw. The karate expert said it was a reflex, the worker didn't see it that way and filed a lawsuit seeking compensation.
A settlement was reached, where the karate expert agreed to pay 10 million yen or over $68,000 in damages, but then the man filed his own lawsuit against the theme park, stating that they were responsible, and should cover some of the damages. He blames the park for not training their staff in preventing an attack, and that he shouldn’t have been allowed into the haunted house, as he had been drinking.
The Osaka High Court ruled his kick was an overreaction, and dismissed the claim. that the park was partly responsible for the incident.
“While it is true that the aim of the staff portraying the ghosts is to surprise customers, this is done with the understood principle that the haunted house is something that can be safely enjoyed,” the court said. “Unlike within the story of a movie or TV show, the ‘ghosts’ are not actually attacking the customers, so there is no need for them to physically fight back.”
Plus a real ghost wouldn't need to know what Ross from Friends calls "Unagi", since it's a ghost and the kick would've gone right through it.