The mother of a 7-year-old boy who needed emergency open-heart surgery after being hurt at a holiday drone show in December 2024 is suing the city of Orlando, Fla., and several companies connected to the event, according to a new lawsuit.
The boy was at Lake Eola with his parents, Jessica Lumedge and Adriana Edgerton, watching the show on Dec. 21, 2024.
The complaint obtained by PEOPLE says that during the show, “multiple drones malfunctioned, causing these drones to leave formation, deviate from the coordinated flight path and breach the designated geofenced perimeter.”
One of the drones reportedly “entered the space occupied by spectators at a high rate of speed,” hitting the boy “in the face and chest, causing severe and permanent injuries.”
The lawsuit says the boy’s injuries have caused “past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, disability, loss of enjoyment of life, and other economic and non-economic damages.”
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As previously reported by PEOPLE, the boy had emergency open-heart surgery. According to Law & Crime, he spent about 10 days in the hospital and is still recovering from his injuries.
The lawsuit states the boy suffered “traumatic, permanent injuries requiring medical treatment, and will continue to suffer physical, emotional, and financial harm.”
A GoFundMe set up to help with medical bills has raised more than $36,000 of its $50,000 goal.
The lawsuit claims the City of Orlando should have known the drone show “involved high-risk aerial equipment” and that the drones “posed a foreseeable and unreasonable risk of harm to the public.”
A preliminary report by the National Transportation Board (NTSB) found that a review of aircraft logs showed a 7-degree misalignment with the show position, which made the geo-fence too close to the audience.
“In addition, the fence was set to 5 meters rather than the company’s standard of 1 meter. The combined errors resulted in a reduced safety area that was outside of company standards,” the report said.
The city of Orlando, Sky Elements, and the drone manufacturer are accused of negligence. The software developer for the drones faces strict liability.
Sky Elements told PEOPLE it is aware of the lawsuit but added, “as this is an ongoing legal matter, we cannot comment further at this time.”
A spokesperson for the city of Orlando said the city had not yet been served as of Thursday, Aug. 14.
