When a Haunted House Becomes Too Real: Haunted House Injuries Tarnish Halloween Revelry

Across the United States there are about 1,500 commercial haunted houses in operation during the Halloween season each year. On top of that, approximately 3,000 more haunted venues are run by charities in October. Tens of thousands of people of all ages and from all walks of life flock to haunted houses every year to celebrate the days around All Hallows’ Eve. Unfortunately, hundreds of people are injured at haunted houses every year, sometimes seriously so and oftentimes because of the negligence of the operator of the fight site. If you’re one of those unfortunate folks who visited a haunted house and ended up injured, you may have questions about your legal rights following an accident or incident. The Doan Law Firm, a nationwide law practice with offices from coast-to-coast, has a personal injury hotline at (800) 349-0000 available 24 hours a day and available to answer questions about a haunted house injury.

Most Common Types of Haunted House Accident

Slip and falls are the most commonplace type of haunted house accident at horror venues every Halloween season. Haunted houses are dark in order to be eerie and spooky. As a result, a person is more apt to lose footing or trip over an imperfect floor or some other obstacle. High on the list of more frequent causes of haunted house accidents are protrusions from walls, including nails and screws. Because of the manner in which many haunted houses are built and put up, finish work proves to be far from perfect and even fairly can be said to create a hazardous condition.

Scare tactics and surprises also underpin more than a few haunted house accidents every season. Actors tend to be major players in a haunted house. Unfortunately, time and again some actors are not properly trained in haunted house safety and end up “going too far” in their performances. The grab at, push, or pull guests at a haunted house, conduct that results in visitors sustaining injuries.

When it comes to the personnel operating haunted houses, there are also reports every year of visitors being sexually assaulted in these venues. Although not a frequent occurrence, sexual assaults do happen at haunted houses.

Not year goes by when a Halloween haunted house patron isn’t injured by a prop. In many cases, these injuries are the result of a prop or piece of scenery falling on a patron. In other cases, a patron is injured in some manner by a handheld prop.

As a matter of practice, people tend to flow through a haunted house in groups, with one cluster of people following closely behind another. Each Halloween season, people are injured in haunted houses when groups become frightened and suddenly bolt or start running. Injuries in such situations tend to result from people being trampled in the process. Children are particularly vulnerable to sustaining injuries as a result of trampling in a haunted house.

A typical haunted house may utilize different chemicals to add to the atmospherics. For example, they may use chemicals to create fog. Many haunted houses have inadequate ventilation. As a consequence, visitors to haunted houses face the prospect of suffering carbon monoxide poisoning and other injuries stemming from different types of exposures to toxic substances sometimes used at these venues.

Justice and Your Legal Rights After a Haunted House Accident

If you or a member of your family were injured in a haunted house accident this Halloween season, the legal team at The Doan Law Office at (800) 349-0000 stands ready and able to assist. As mentioned previously, we are a nationwide law firm with offices across the country. We can schedule an initial consultation with you at any one of our offices, at your home, or set up a virtual appointment online at your convenience. There is no charge for an initial consultation and case evaluation with an experienced haunted house accident lawyer from our firm.

Doan Law Firm Attorney Fee Promise

Although Halloween is the time of a year for tricks as well as treats, we make a firm promise to you. Our firm never charges a fee unless we win for you!