HIRING THE RIGHT AMUSEMENT PARK ACCIDENT ATTORNEY IS ESSENTIAL.

AMUSEMENT PARK INJURY ATTORNEYS

Injured in an Amusement Park?

You may be entitled to significant compensation.

Every year, there are 335 million visitors to U.S. amusement parks. Given that high volume, the most rigorous safety standards would be implemented to ensure ride-goers safety. However, in some states, there are no amusement park ride safety regulations either. Regulations or not, the owners, manufacturers, and operators of amusement parks are liable to ensure that their rides are safe enough to protect the public reasonably and that they don’t hurt their guests.

If you or someone you care about were hurt in an amusement park accident, you might have grounds to sue the amusement park owner, operator, or manufacturer. Our attorneys have represented victims of amusement park injuries, and we know how to navigate the complicated legal process.

How Many People Are Injured By Amusement Park Rides?

In 2016, according to data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 30,900 people went to emergency rooms due to injuries caused by amusement park attractions. This number includes injuries suffered by small children. A 2013 Nationwide Children’s Hospital study reported about 4,000 children were treated at the ER for injuries at amusement parks – that is 20 injuries per summer day on average. The median age of the injured was only eight years. In data reviewed by the Children’sChildren’s Hospital of America, the head and neck were the most commonly injured regions.

Amusement park attractions should feature functioning parts, a stable structure, and appropriate supervision from the ride operator. When injuries occur, it is usually due to one or more of the following reasons. Interactive, unrestrained attractions such as water slides or air-filled devices can present a greater risk to safety since there is no safe limit. Therefore, owners and operators should educate guests about the risks associated with these activities. Amusement park attractions are regulated on the state, county, and local levels, but safety standards and regulations are only in some states.

Three states lack regulations or laws regarding amusement park safety. To date, nine states have no agencies that oversee amusement park safety, including Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Three states- Alabama, Mississippi, and Wyoming- do not have regulations or laws governing amusement park safety. In Florida, the Department of Agriculture regulates smaller amusement parks and carnivals. Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, and Busch Gardens are exempt from filing incident reports and investigations.

It is not always that way, however. The CPSC had been overseeing amusement parks and traveling carnivals before 1981, when Congress passed a loophole preventing the federal government from investigating amusement-park accidents, sharing information about accidents with manufacturers and amusement-ride operators, and requiring manufacturers to fix design defects to make rides safer. As a result, patchwork regulations replaced CPSC’s federal oversight.

But according to Consumers Digest, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) spent $11 million on lobbying efforts to defeat it. Jim Prager, former top executive of Six Flags and an IAAPA board member, helped fight the loophole in the 1981 amusement park regulations.

In a recent CNN interview, he admitted it was wrong to put the control over amusement parks into state and local hands. “Children are not being served very well under the laws as they are written right now,” he said. “We have not done enough to make riding safer, and we need to do more.

The Sand Blaster coaster partly derailed, sending two passengers plummeting 34 feet. In addition to the tens of thousands of injuries caused each year, a small number of unlucky accidents lead to deaths, again highlighting the need for strong safety regulations. Excessive corrosion was also implicated in a 2017 fireball incident at the Ohio State Fair. A ride car detached and struck a metal support beam.

One rider was killed, while seven were injured. In 2016, Verruckt, the water slide at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, which was said to be the highest in the world, closed for good following a tragic accident. A 10-year-old boy was killed when his raft went airborne and struck a metal rail, killing him. The boys’ family received a $20 million settlement from the owner of the attraction and its manufacturers.

Who Can Be Held Liable For Amusement Park Injury?

Suppose it is determined that one of these parties is responsible for an injured patron. In that case, victims can seek damages such as compensation for pain and suffering, medical expenses, lost wages (past and future), and other damages.

Although it is expected that attractions in an amusement park will likely seem dangerous to provide thrills, these attractions will probably not cause harm or cause visitors to go to a hospital.

You may be entitled to significant compensation if you or a loved one are injured at an amusement or water park. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation by calling (888) 491-0444 or completing the form on this website.