Philadelphia Amusement Park Accident Lawyers
Amusement Park Accidents, Water Park Accidents, and Carnival Accidents
Amusement parks, carnivals, and water parks advertise the latest thrill rides and fun-filled family adventures. Unfortunately, many amusement park rides and attractions look innocent, but are often an unknowingly dangerous form of entertainment for families and young people. When you watch an amusement park advertisement on television or see a billboard advertising the newest thrill ride or adventure, the last thing you would ever imagine is that many of the new thrill rides are not safe and are often the cause of fatalities or catastrophic injury.
A lot of people are addicted to roller coasters, and the bigger and scarier the ride, the more they want to go on it. After litigating amusement park and water park accident cases for several years, the Philadelphia personal injury attorneys at The Beasley Reiff Law Group have become much more cautious and have become concerned stalwarts of public safety when it comes to evaluating thrill rides, their proper and safe maintenance, and operation.
Many amusement parks, water parks, and carnivals put profitability above the safety of their consumers and will not settle a claim unless a lawsuit is filed. Many times amusement parks and their representatives will try to settle a claim as cheaply as possible. In one of our cases, despite the fact that our client sustained catastrophic injuries, including but not limited to a broken back, the amusement park representative claimed the accident was the client’s fault and only offered him a free pass. Many times, amusement park owners or water park owners operate within a system of laws that are extremely biased in their favor with specific notice and time limitation requirements for filing claims.
Amusement Park Accident Causes and Liability
There are many serious loopholes in the Consumer Product Safety Acts prohibiting the CPSC from regulating the safety of rides that are fixed to a specific site. Many times, regulation and inspection of fixed site amusement rides are left up to state or local municipalities who often have a very close political and business relationship with the amusement park operator, and as a result, the regulation or inspection varies from good to none. Unfortunately, there is no official source which keeps a complete record of amusement park accidents and when claims are brought, they are generally resolved in a confidential manner with a news blackout.
Several factors may indicate fault and liability in amusement park accidents, including but not limited to:
- operator behavior
- mechanical failure
- design defects or limitations
- inadequate security
- failure to post proper warnings
- uninspected damage
- improper repairs
- metallurgical or component failure
- improper operation
- improper training of operator
- lack of or improper maintenance procedures
- improper repairs
- loose cables
- rusted belts
- improper belting/security
- lack of safety harness
- failure of safety lock
- sharp and protruding parts
- improper height or weight restrictions
- abrupt starts and stops
- failure to load and unload in a safe and proper manner
- improper assembly
- exposed electrical wires
- malfunctioning lap bars
- broken welds
- failure to shut off
- abrupt seizure of mechanism
- engineering design defects
- structural flaws
- intentional rocking
- improper installation
- unsecured areas of danger near electrical and mechanical equipment
- lack of engineering equipment
- failure of emergency stop
- corrosion of parts
- poor lighting
- electrical shorts/failures
While reporting of amusement park accidents is extremely limited, many sources indicate that the real number of catastrophic injury or death exceeds 11,000 per year and increases with the complexity of the rides. Approximately 55% of all amusement park and water park injuries occur to children especially between 10 to 14 years of age. Females are surprisingly injured 1.5 times more often than males irrespective of age or size. Over 270 million people will visit amusement parks each year in the United States and yet accident data for most amusement parks is a particularly well guarded secret. It is interesting to note that Florida’s theme parks, which account for 20% of all U.S. amusement park business, are exempt from state regulatory laws.
Extensive Legal Experience Winning Your Battles
The experienced Pennsylvania amusement park accident lawyers of The Beasley Reiff Law Group have recovered billions of dollars since 1958 representing catastrophically injured consumers and victims who died as a result of catastrophic accidents. Our skilled Philadelphia water park accident attorneys understand that the economic downturn has lead many amusement park, water park, and carnival operators to cut corners on safety. An amusement park, water park or carnival accident often involves a blend of many complex theories of law requiring experience in the fields of negligence, product liability, and premises liability.
An experienced Philadelphia carnival accident lawyer must be thoroughly familiar with notice and time limitations unique to each jurisdiction. If you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic injury or if you have lost a loved one fatality due to an accident at an amusement park, water park, or carnival, it is important that you contact an experienced Pennsylvania amusement park accident lawyer to investigate the defective product, premises liability problem, or general negligence issue.
The Beasley Reiff Law Group is a nationally recognized amusement park and water park accident law firm staffed with some of the top rated catastrophic injury and wrongful death attorneys in Pennsylvania. The skilled Pennsylvania amusement park and water park attorneys of The Beasley Reiff Law Group have received the highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards, and if you or a loved one would like to speak to one of our knowledgeable Pennsylvania amusement park accident attorneys, please feel free to contact us for a free, no obligation consultation. Of course, we will never take a fee unless we win your case. Put over a half century of experience on your team. Contact us toll free at 1-800-588-0130 or online at www.beasleyreifflawgroup.com.
