Amusement Parks Can Cause Personal Injury Too

Each summer, families from around the country head off to amusement and water parks. Some will go to local amusement parks and others travel further away for larger attractions such as Disney World, Florida or Disney, California. No one thinks they will incur a personal injury while they're having fun, do they?

Accidents at Parks

While millions of people enjoy the parks without incident, there have certainly been some serious accidents as well as personal injury across the nation. Recently, an article from Market Watch, reported on some of the most hair-raising amusement park incidents that have happened in 2015.

Disney World

One of the scariest incidents occurred in Disney World, Florida's Epcot Center. Apparently, people were waiting in a long line for the infamous Test Track ride. One of the people in the queue wasn't too happy about the length of time they had to wait and allegedly picked a fight. The result was three people getting involved in a physical altercation in a large crowd of people. Luckily, no one was hurt and no arrests had to be made. But, if a plaintiff suffers a personal injury from the intentional act of a third party, he or she may have a valid claim, according to the theory of premises liability. The defendant has the option to file a direct claim for assault against the assailant personally. However, the owner of the venue will probably have insurance that can cover any judgements.

Other Theme Park Accidents

Yet another incident occurred this year at a Pittsburgh amusement park. In this instance, over 50 teenagers got involved in a huge brawl that sent other guests rushing for the exit. The park had to close early on that day. At yet another accident in a Wisconsin amusement park, guests had been securely strapped into a type of projector ride, as normal. However, when the bungee cord-driven vehicle got pulled back to the beginning position, the cord snapped, resulting in a ride malfunction. This defect was so serious that the ride was entirely removed from the park and has yet to be replaced. On another occasion in a Californian amusement park, one roller coaster rider happened to drop their phone while on the ride. The rider asked one of the park workers to fetch the phone. The ride should have been temporarily shut down while this was going on and the worker was operating in the danger zone. But the ride was running. A train running at high speed came towards where the worker was. This was the type of roller coaster that suspended and rider's feet dangle from the train car. When the train passed over the worker's head, a rider's foot made contact with his head. Both the rider and the worker incurred personal injury.

Report The Incident

There are many other accidents discussed in the article. What's important, though, is for victims of amusement park accidents to report injuries to park supervisors immediately. The victim will receive the appropriate medical attention and a record of the incident will be created. If you feel you need legal representation for your personal injury, contact a lawyer at Clore Law on 843-722-8070 for advice.