Most kids who see the signs and flyers for upcoming State and County fairs, carnivals, and amusement park specials get excited. Parents, on the other hand, begin to worry.
Most parents may not even know that the Ferris wheel, roller coaster, Tilt-a-Wheel, and Gravitron were thrown up in one day, on a wet, soft grassy area by unskilled labor or worse! Not only are these rides in carnivals and fairs quickly assembled, but often-times they are operated by non-professionals, kids, temporary workers, or seasonal workers that are not at all familiar with any of the safety issues or potential dangers these rides can cause.
Although amusement parks, usually have a more professional run operation sometimes the same problems of safety training and inexperienced workers make it possible for an otherwise “safe” ride to become dangerous.
Have you ever wondered who is liable if you get injured while riding a roller coaster or any other ride at an amusement park?
We’ve all seen the dramatic footage of unfortunate thrill seekers hanging suspended from a malfunctioning roller coaster, precariously dangling and hoping for a quick repair. Many times, the damage to the park visitor is simply more thrills than he or she bargained for, but sometimes physical injuries occur too. Anything from exhaustion, dehydration (baking in the sun for hours without water), mental anguish and fear to spinal cord injuries.
On average, about 5-7 amusement park accidents occur every year in California. That figure may be much lower because of glitches in reporting and the non-conformity of reporting. WE think the number is much higher.
Sometimes even being stuck for hours in an awkward position while waiting for the ride to be fixed is enough to cause soft tissue injuries such as neck and back strain and other physical injuries, some permanent.
Unfortunately there have even been cases where freak accidents have resulted in passenger deaths. So allow our experienced team of personal injury attorneys to evaluate your case on a free and confidential basis.
Some people may think that riding a “thrill ride” means that they assume some risk of injury and that perhaps the amusement park is absolved of liability, or fault. However, the courts in California have not found that to be the case.
In fact, they hold the amusement parks to a high standard of care with regard to roller coasters and other rides.