With the arrival of warm weather, many people will visit various amusement parks around the country. Everything from roller coasters to bumper cars, water rides and more will be used by thousands of individuals every day. These rides do provide a lot of fun but also a lot of injuries. These injuries range from minor bruises and scrapes to major head trauma and even death. When a person is hurt, a personal injury attorney will be able to help them get fair compensation for their injuries.
Common Amusement Park Accidents
In an average year approximately 8,000 people are injured on amusement park rides. Theses are statistics from the Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). These statistics represent only injuries serious enough to require treatment in an emergency room. The total number of injuries that occurred were even more. When the injuries from inflatable amusement park rides are included, the number of injuries increases by over 3,600. When both moon bounces and inflatable slide injuries are added, it increases by 3,000 and still doesn’t include the number of people injured on public water slides.
Children
Half of all people hurt on amusement park rides are children. Over 16 percent of reported injuries occur to children between the ages of 10 and 14. Children account for three-quarters of accidents involving a rider falling or being ejected from a ride during its operation. During a span of three years over 50 people were killed riding amusement park rides. These deaths most often occurred on roller coasters. The second most deaths occurred on whirling rides.
Types of Injuries Experienced
Bumper car rides and others that move people around at a high rate of speed cause many accidents. Roller coasters also cause many accidents. People often experience a stroke from trauma that occurs to ligaments in their neck. Traumatic brain injuries can happen from high levels of stress put on the brain by excessive speed. Detached objects hitting a person’s head also causes injury. People experience varies types of cuts, torn ligaments as well as broken bones. Some individuals drown on waters slides and a number of other water rides.
The Cause of Accidents
Many accidents are determined to have resulted from mechanical failures caused by improper maintenance and more. Rides are sometimes operated incorrectly. In some cases, a passenger does not follow safety instructions. Accidents happen when a rider stands up at the wrong time, removes safety restraints too soon and more. Some accidents occur because a ride is designed to create a thrill by spinning fast or traveling at excessive speeds.
Government Regulations
Rides at amusement parks are regulated based on how they are categorized. They are either a mobile or a fixed-site ride. A fixed-site ride is stationary and will not leave its location once installed. Mobile rides are found in carnivals and fairs. They are disassembled and reassembled as needed. The CPSC is not permitted to regulate fixed-site rides. Some state governments take it upon themselves to regulate and perform safety inspections on amusement park rides in the fixed-site category. Other states depend on insurance companies and even third-party inspectors to ensure amusement park ride safety.
