When summer begins and school is out, children all over the country go to amusement parks to play games and enjoy the rides. The last thing most of these children—or their parents—are worrying about is being hurt on an amusement park ride or by an unsafe conditions on amusement park grounds. But, amusement park injuries are more common than most people realize. According to a report issued by the National Safety Council for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, more than 1,000 people were injured on amusement park rides every year between 2003 and 2010.
In July of 2014, riders of a Six Flags roller coaster were left suspended approximately 40 feet above the ground for nearly three hours, when the ride hit a tree. Though no one was seriously injured, two riders sustained injuries serious enough to require visits to a hospital. Other roller coaster malfunctions have resulted in deaths and serious injuries to riders. One death resulted in blame being directed at both the amusement park and the manufacturer of the malfunctioning roller coaster car that apparently resulted in the rider’s death.
Most parents assume that all amusement park grounds and rides are carefully inspected and subjected to constant repair. But, this is not always the case. Though some amusement park accidents are caused solely by the negligence of the person who was injured, many are caused by the negligence of park owners or maintainers, ride operators, or defects in rides.
If a defective ride or the negligence of an amusement park owner, ride operator, or company or individual responsible for an amusement park’s maintenance results in your child’s injury or death, you may be entitled to compensation for the damages suffered by your child and your family as a result.
Legal Liability for Amusement Park Injuries or Deaths
Unsafe conditions on amusement park grounds and unsafe or defective rides may result in injuries or wrongful death to a child. If your child sustains an injury that is determined to have been caused by someone’s negligence or a defective product, you may be able to hold certain defendants responsible in an action for negligence or product liability. If your child dies as a result of such injuries, you may be able to hold these same defendants responsible in an action for your child’s wrongful death with the assistance of a child-injury lawyer, amusement-park injury lawyer, or wrongful-death lawyer.
Negligence Actions
In many cases, children are injured or killed on amusement park grounds even when they are not on an amusement park ride.
Injuries Caused by Unsafe Conditions on Amusement Park Grounds
Amusement park owners and operators owe a duty to all patrons of the park to keep the grounds reasonably safe for the patrons’ use. If a child is injured or killed, for example, by falling over an obstruction that was negligently allowed to remain on park grounds, the owners of the park may be held liable under premises liability law for a child’s injuries, if those injuries are found to have been caused by the owner’s failure to keep the grounds reasonably safe.
The operators of an amusement park and any company or individual hired by amusement park owners or operators to maintain amusement park grounds may also be found liable in a negligence or wrongful death action, if a child’s injuries or death are determined to have resulted from the negligence of such defendants.
