Florida man sues after alligator allegedly bites his face during animal encounter

[marmar]

Is the gator going to have to appear in court?



ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A Broward County man has filed a lawsuit after he says an alligator bit him in the face during an animal encounter at Airboat Rides at Midway in Orange County.

According to a complaint filed May 20 in Orange County Circuit Court, Edil Kasenov is suing DCML Enterprises, LLC, which does business as Airboat Rides @ Midway. The lawsuit says the business owned, operated, maintained or controlled the property at 28501 E. Colonial Drive in Christmas, Florida, where it offered a “FREE Alligator Encounter” among other experiences.

The complaint says Kasenov was a business invitee at the property on or about June 9, 2025, when he attended the alligator encounter. During the encounter, the lawsuit alleges, an employee handed Kasenov an alligator, which then bit him in the face.

Kasenov’s attorneys claim the alligator “constituted a dangerous and hazardous condition” and allege the business failed to properly train or supervise employees in a safe and reasonable manner. The complaint also alleges the company failed to warn Kasenov about the dangerous condition. ...................(more)

https://cbs12.com/news/local/florida-man-broward-county-sues-after-alligator-allegedly-bites-his-face-during-encounter-airboat-rides-midway-orange-county-reasonable-care-safety-dangerous-lawsuit-vicious-restrain-negligence

[niyad]

1. . . . .

[Ritabert]

2. FloriDUH man.

[cab67]

3. I'm willing to bet....

....that it was a small alligator.

Small alligators can still give you a nasty bite. I've gotten several*. But it's unlikely this particular alligator was large enough to cause a fatal one.

That said, handing any alligator larger than a hatchling over to someone not trained to handle one was very foolish on this business' part.



_________

* in my line of work, "what's the coolest animal bite you've ever gotten" is a common topic of conversation, along with "what's the coolest thing you've ever been vaccinated against," "what's the coolest parasite you've ever brought home," "what's the rudest place on your body you've ever been sunburned," "what's the largest number of cactus quills ever pulled out of your butt," and "what's the closest you've come to a large predator".

[Ocelot II]

4. On the other hand, if someone hands you an alligator, even a small one,

it might be best not to take it. I knew someone who had a nasty scar on her hand from a baby alligator bite. She was quite proud of it, since not many people have alligator bite scars. Not that you'd want one on your face.