Every year, amusement park rides injure and kill a number of people, including kids, here in Las Vegas. Injuries from these rides can be traumatic, and recently included one six-year-old who fell under a roller coaster track from high above. The incident happened only days after another incident with a roller coaster, in which the ride unexpectedly froze near the top, and a month after a number of accidents that occurred on the July 4th holiday, where a number of riders were reportedly stuck on broken roller coasters; some hanging upside down, or stuck on spinning rides that wouldn’t stop, or even subject to rides that started to crack after support beams fell out of place.
These incidents bring to mind the 2019 tragedy at the El Loco roller coaster in Circus Circus Adventuredome in Las Vegas, where a woman fell from the roller coaster and ended up a double amputee as a result. She was reportedly ejected from her seat on the ride, which traveled up to 44 mph.
Inspections & Duties
When incidents like this happen, they are not only the responsibility of the park owners, but often the manufacturers. Publicly posted guidelines and regulations correlate with every attraction, and it is the duty of manufacturers and those who run these rides to ensure that they are held to high standards, routinely inspected, and in compliance with the appropriate certification process.
Rides are also regularly inspected annually by third-party companies, government regulators, and the Department of Building Fire Prevention. During these inspections, the following are checked:
- The overall condition of the ride
- Lighting
- Wiring
- Holding areas for guests
- Safety guards
- Warning signs
- Emergency stop controls and restraints
Contact Our Las Vegas Injury & Wrongful Death Attorneys
When something goes wrong, trauma or death can occur, and families will not only choose to pursue injury claims, but also wrongful death claims if they lose their loved one due to negligence in these parks. Manufacturers and staff also have duties to warn the public about alleged risks associated with these rides, and those who build and run them have a duty to exercise reasonable care in constructing, controlling, designing, fixing, inspecting, maintaining, managing, operating, and testing amusement park rides produced by their company or located on their premises. Rides are held to industry standards, which means that if most rides resembling the ride that led to someone’s injuries or death are equipped with harnesses and seat belts, for example, and the ride in question was not, this is also a claim that can be made in litigation.
If you or a loved one has been injured at an amusement park, the highly qualified personal injury lawyers at Cameron Law, PLLC are prepared to ensure that you are protected and justice is done.
