What You Should Know About Amusement Park Accidents
Brian O Sutter
Personal Injury
With the warm weather flooding in, amusement parks all over are being packed with excited children and adult alike. With so many great rides from bumper cars to roller coasters, there is often something for everyone to enjoy and be excited for. While this is all good and fun, it is important to be careful during your stay. After all, amusement parks are not without danger.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commissions, about 9,000 people were injured on amusement park rides in 2006. However, these numbers only reflect the injuries that were serious enough to need emergency room treatment, meaning that the total number of injury is even higher. The largest culprits of these accidents tend to be roller coasters and whirling rides.
Children represent around half of those injuries. Most of which were between the ages of 10 and 14 years old. If that wasn’t scary enough, in accidents where the rider falls or is forcefully ejected from an amusement park ride, children made up ¾ of the victims.
Types Of Amusement Park Injuries
There are several types of amusement park injuries that you can expect including:
- Traumatic brain injury from the G-forces and other stresses imposed on the brain due to the rapid speeds or due to detached objects hitting the rider’s head
- Stroke due to trauma to ligaments in the neck
- Head and neck injuries due to being whipped around on spinning rides, roller coasters, and even bumper car rides
- Broken bones or lacerations
- Brain aneurysms from roller coasters and several other fast rides
Common Causes Of Amusement Park Injuries
Employee’s negligence or improper operation of the ride – The park employee is responsible for ensuring the safety of the passengers and the proper use of the ride. If the park employee incorrectly latches the seatbelt or neglects to ensure that everyone is properly in their seat, they would be liable for your injuries.
A mechanical failure or defective part – The rides need to be able to work properly in order to ensure the safety of the riders. If there is a mechanical failure or if one of the part’s is defective, then the manufacturer is liable for the injuries that result.
Poor conduct of the passenger – Much like how a park employee must ensure the safety of the passengers, the passengers must listen and follow instructions for their own safety. If you are injured due to your failure to follow directions, you are liable for your own injuries.
The inherent nature of the ride – Everything from the product to the park employee could be doing everything they possibly can to ensure your safety and still result in an injury. This can be due to the nature of the ride itself.
Amusement Park Accidents And Personal Injury Claims
Now the question is, can you take them to court for your injuries? Yes, but it does depend on what the cause of the injury was. If you or your loved one’s injury was due to their own poor conduct or to the inherent nature of the ride, you are unlikely to have much of a case.
Negligence – If the injury was caused by someone’s negligence, then you have a case. This can look a few different ways. For example, if the park employee improperly buckled your seat, it was their negligence that caused it. Or the park may have neglected to maintain their equipment and it caused the ride to break.
Product liability – Sometimes it isn’t the fault of the park owners or employees, but rather due to a faulty design or structural defects. In this case, it is the manufacturer of the ride or the maker of the defective part that is to blame for the accident.