Types of Amusement Park Injuries

Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys for Injury Victims nationwide

So what are Amusement Park injuries and, aside from Amusement parks, where do they occur?

Americans and their families get away to have fun at amusement parks, carnivals, state and county fairs, water parks and other recreation centers. And every year there are thousands of amusement park-related injuries in the United States.

Usually, amusement park owners and operators diligently operate these rides and endeavor to make the venues fun and safe. But people still become injured and are sometimes even killed. Unfortunately, accidents are frequently caused by malfunctioning products and machinery; other times injuries are due to sheer negligence.

Worse still, amusement park injuries are often unreported or underreported, making safety changes that could help prevent the next accident from being addressed. And when, like an airplane crash, the problem is one in a series of cascading events, the result can me multiple losses of life or horrible injuries. Venues for injuries are not limited to simply amusement parks or theme parks. There are many more places that conduct similar business and must operate within the same scope as fixed operation parks.

These include:

• State and County Fairs
• Zoos and Petting zoos
• Mall kids’ Zones
• Carnivals
• Theme Parks
• Arcades
• Boardwalks
• Ball Pits
• Mini Trains
• Inflatable Bouncers
• Water Parks
• Go Kart Tracks

State and County Fairs

Set up and disassembled after a few weeks use, state and county fairs have all the thrills and fast rides found in permanent theme parks. But where static parks are inspected over and over and potentially hazardous deterioration is typically noted immediately, potentially catastrophic issues at temporary facilities are not always easy to inspect. Sometimes it’s due to the difficulty of inspection at the new location. Sometimes it’s a problem that arises at the location and goes unrecognized due to the location itself. An undiagnosed problem at a fair can become a fatality quickly. Merry-go-rounds, Ferris wheels, roller coasters, machines that spin, stop, rise and fall – or all three at the same time — can all do damage should they be defective or poorly operated or inspected.

Zoos and Petting Zoos

Zoos are designed to keep animals and people apart. In the case of petting zoos, animals and people are together, but usually with harmless animals. However, animals of all types are unpredictable. And accidents do happen. For young children, especially ones prone to injury in the first place, injuries can haunt them forever. In the case of a mature wild animal, the result can easily be death. But myriad other accidents can happen at zoos – from slips and falls, to injuries on barriers or in feeding zones. Then of course, there are the rides located at the zoos – the merry-go-rounds, Ferris wheels, roller coasters, etc – that can all do damage should they be defective or poorly operated or inspected.

Mall Kids’ Zones

Recent studies have found that, unsurprisingly, most injuries on amusement rides happen during the summer. But the study also reports that most injuries are more apt to happen at malls and locations not usually identified as amusement parks. The most commonly reported injury was to the head and neck as a result of falling, usually from the ride itself. Something like, say, a plastic pony that bobs up and down as a small carousel spins it around at a rural mall is often a bigger threat than a coaster that reaches speeds of 80 mph. Ferris wheels, roller coasters, and other machines that spin, stop, rise and fall can all do damage should they be defective or poorly operated or inspected. And children, with their more fragile bodies are more likely to suffer head and neck or other injuries to the head and face. In fact, reports suggest that mall rides and others in non-theme park settings were often not adequately padded and supervision and oversight was not as strict as larger parks.

Carnivals

Temporary amusement parks set up in grocery store parking lots, or private zones with rides or games can create an environment rife with danger is they are not created with safety in mind. From rides and attraction to ingress and egress, among other possible sources of injury, the small private carnival can be an easy source of a possible injury or death. Temporary merry-go-rounds, Ferris wheels, roller coasters, machines that spin, stop, rise and fall – or all three at the same time — can all do damage should they be defective or poorly operated or inspected.

Theme Parks

The safest of all amusement parks, theme parks are still not immune from injuring people there to have a good time. As with any venue that hosts fast-moving, potentially dangerous rides, accidents still happen at even the safest of parks.

Arcades

Arcades are often crowded places, with wet, slippery, slick, icy or snowy surfaces. Older arcades can have broken walkways, sidewalks, roads, tiles, flooring or carpeting, dangerous stairway conditions, including missing or broken handrails, and can sometimes be located in unsafe stores, shopping malls or public buildings. Even if they are located in well-kept areas, improperly maintained rides can still cause injury.

Boardwalks

Often old and nostalgic and filled with local charm, boardwalks sometimes have ancient rides and attractions – many that may cause injury to unsuspecting amusement-park goers. We long for nostalgia, yet older isn’t better when it comes to rides. Rusty components, old designs, unimproved features and fatigue fractures contribute to accidents — all facets of a boardwalk that can lead to a possible injury and a lifetime of pain and suffering. As with every other amusement park setting, merry-go-rounds, Ferris wheels, roller coasters, machines that spin, stop, rise and fall can all do damage should they be defective or poorly operated or inspected.

Ball Pits

As safe as they seem, ball pits can injure children by others falling diving or jumping on each other. Limbs buried in the feet-deep collection of balls can snap if another child puts the right pressure on them at the wrong place by accident. Then there’s the disease they can spread – a Petrie dish of bacteria that needs proper attention to keep from being a hazard.

Mini Trains

Trains transport people from place to place, keeping their passengers inside, safe and dry. But mini trains, trams and trolleys transport people who ride ON them. Should there be an incident, the passenger is already outside and there’s no protection from being thrown from the train or – worse – between its wheels.

Inflatable bouncers

Like ball pits, inflatable bouncers seem harmless enough but, with their pliable and semi-soft surfaces, they’re an invitation for kids to play rough. Rough play between children rarely ends well. And like, the ball pits, they breed germs, bacteria and disease.

Water Parks

Swishing through dark tunnels, sliding down endless, looping canals of blue tubing, a day at the water park is paradise for kids on a hot summer day. But inside the viaducts, in the fountains, in the pools and ponds, water park attendees can become injured if the parks are not checked frequently for hazards. Every year, children drown when left for just seconds by themselves in water recreation areas. Combine that with crowds and add in a safety violation, and you have a recipe for injury or death.

Go Kart Tracks

Mario Andretti didn’t have it this easy. But then he didn’t consider his life to be a safe one. Those who go to go Kart tracks usually don’t expect to be injured. If not warned of the consequences, they can easily be hurt.

If you or a family member has been injured at an amusement park – or any of these related venues — you may be entitled to compensation. The injuries usually fall under Personal Injury Law. The Doan Law Firm can often provide funding services for Amusement park accidents for the following an injury and while they await compensation.

Contact our offices today to speak with an experienced attorney to see how we can help you.