Kansas City Amusement Park Injury Lawyer

Amusement parks and theme parks are a staple for celebrating spring, enjoying summer vacations, and taking families on fall outings. Rides, games, and iconic fair foods are all an important part of American culture. Unfortunately, amusement parks are also hotbeds of hazards, including fall risks, dangerous ride conditions, and food contaminants. While most amusement park visits end with exhausted children and happy memories, some unfortunate park-goers end their day with emergency room visits, hospital stays, and sometimes catastrophic injuries or even fatalities. Let our Kansas City injury attorney help your case.

How Common Are Amusement Park Injuries?

In the most recent year of collected data, there were 10,580 amusement park-related emergency room visits. Over 6,000 injuries occurred on fixed-site rides, or those installed in permanent theme parks, while almost 4,000 injuries happened on mobile-site rides or rides in traveling fairs or seasonal carnivals. There were two amusement park fatalities during the same data year. Over 60% of the injuries occurred to children, and adult women suffered injuries more commonly than adult men.

Common Causes of Amusement Park Injuries

Most amusement park visitors leave with nothing worse than an upset stomach from greasy food and wild rides, or a case of sunburn, but for an unfortunate few, a day at an amusement park ends in the hospital. The most common causes of amusement park injuries in Missouri and elsewhere include the following:

• Slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall accidents
• Falls from heights
• Broken lap bars and failed restraints
• Mechanical failures such as detached cars, snapped cables, broken drive chains, and missing pins
• Abrupt ride stops
• Improper ride assembly
• Exposed electrical wires
• Inadequate ride maintenance
• Poorly maintained property
• Food poisoning
• Insufficiently trained attendants
• Inadequate lighting
• Insufficient signage

When a guest suffers an injury due to any of the above, the negligent amusement park owners/managers are liable for damages. Even when park visitors sign a waiver, it may not cover negligent actions. Typically these liability waivers only apply to injuries caused by a visitor’s negligence. Guests at an amusement park have a reasonable expectation of safety. If an injury occurs due to park negligence, they have a right to compensation. Depending on the circumstances of the injury, some amusement park compensation claims become defective product lawsuits against a liable manufacturer.

Common Amusement Park Injuries

Injuries from amusement park rides and activities range from mild to severe, sometimes with life-altering consequences. Even less serious injuries deserve compensation for medical expenses and pain and suffering when the injury was preventable. Common injuries associated with amusement parks include:

• Broken bones
• Head injuries/traumatic brain injuries
• Electrocutions
• Neck injuries
• Back injuries
• Sprains, strains, torn ligaments, and other soft-tissue injuries
• Cuts, bruises, and abrasions
• Spinal cord injuries

Illnesses may also result from amusement park negligence due to food-borne pathogens or chemical exposures. Many park visitors who suffer from food poisoning are unaware that they can recover compensation for their medical costs and lost wages through a claim against an amusement park or third-party vendor.

How Can an Amusement Park Injury Attorney In Kansas City Help?

After an injury at an amusement park, always report the injury to the park manager. Use a cell phone to photograph the cause of the injury and the injury itself if it’s visible. Then, call the amusement park accident lawyers at Miller & Hine Attorneys at Law for an evaluation of your case.