Amusement Parks
- What must be proven to make a recovery in a lawsuit against the owner of the amusement park?
- Do I need a lawyer?
- If I retain a lawyer, will I have to pay legal fees and costs?
- Should I be speaking to the representative of the amusement park or the insurance carrier?
- How long do I have to file a claim against the amusement park?
- Recoveries for Clients
While it does not happen often, patrons do suffer serious injuries at amusement parks, water parks, entertainment complexes, and sports facilities. We all know amusement parks are fun. A trip to an amusement park is a great outing. With so many people visiting amusement parks, injuries are bound to happen. While it does not happen often, patrons suffer serious injuries at amusement parks, water parks, entertainment complexes, and sports facilities. The Consumer Product Safety Commission tells us there are hazard patterns associated with amusement ride related accidents:
- Mechanical failures associated with amusement ride related accidents include:
- Missing safety pins
- Broken structural components
- Exposed electrical wires
- Broken drive chains
- Malfunctioning lap bars or other safety restraints
- Failure to shut off
- Improper detachment of cars
- Improper detachment of structural components.
- Neglectful operator behavior including:
- Abruptly stopping the ride
- Improperly assembling and maintaining the ride
- Defeating safety equipment such as brakes and automatic emergency shut off switches.
- Failure of ride operators to supervise and prevent poor customer behavior associated with ride related accidents including
- Intentionally rocking cars
- Standing up
- Defeating safety restraints
- Sitting improperly (sideways or with feet above the lap bar)
- Holding a child above the safety restraint.
- In one instance, a disembarking passenger intentionally re-started the ride by pressing the start button as the other passengers were disembarking.
Our firm is experienced in representing victims of serious injury and death due to amusement park accidents. We can provide excellent representation and are happy to answer any questions or review your case for free. Please call us at 1-877-228-1528 or complete a short form and a member of our firm will contact you. There is no fee unless we recover money for you.
Here are some questions you may have:
A case of liability for a patron's injury at an amusement park ordinarily requires at a minimum:
- The defendant or wrongdoer owned or operated the ride in question.
- The injured patron was on the ride in question.
- The injured patron followed all rules and obeyed all warnings regarding the ride.
- The defendant breached the duty to protect the patron from injury by:
- Negligent control of the ride
- Negligent operation of the ride
- Failure to install safety equipment.
- Failure to control other patrons
- The defendant knew or should have known that the specific failure or failures would endanger the patron
- The patron suffered death or injury arising from the ride.
Do I need a lawyer?
Yes. Even if the insurance company or the amusement park contacted you, you should speak with a lawyer. When you are injured, neither the insurance company nor the amusement park is your friend. They are not looking out for your interest. They are looking out for their own interests: Saving as much money as possible. You on the other hand want to be fully and fairly compensated for the injuries sustained. This is why you need our firm to represent you. We can negotiate the best possible settlement for you or file a lawsuit on your behalf.
Yes. However, our firm’s policy when handling these cases is that fees and costs are on a contingency basis. This means that we advance the costs and charge you a percentage of the amount collected. In the event we recover, we recapture our costs and charge you the agreed fee. If we do not recover anything on your behalf, you owe us no money.
We would advise you to contact us if you are contacted by the insurance company or the amusement park. There may very well be some times where you should speak to the insurance company or amusement park representative; however, you should not make that decision unless you discuss the matter with us first.
In every state, there is a statute of limitations, which means that you must file a claim within a certain period of time or your claim will be forever barred. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, that period is two years. You should contact us if you have any questions regarding how long you have to file the claim after the injury or death. If you are going to use a lawyer, it is important that the lawyer be retained as soon as possible so a timely investigation can be conducted. The timely investigation is important because as time goes by, witness' memories are not as good and you may lose track of them. A prompt investigation should be done because the environment where the accident occurred may change.
In addition to amusement ride injuries, many claims are made against amusement parks as a result of failure to maintain grounds and structures of the facility in a reasonable condition. To learn more about these claims click on slip and fall, to go to that area of our practice.
