Unlike what some people may like to think amusement park accidents occur at a high frequency than the general public is led to believe. Pleasure rides such as roller coasters, bumper cars or even water slides have been known to trigger serious injuries. This includes riders sustaining bead, back and neck injuries while trying out bumper car rides or been thrashed about while riding roller coasters or spinning rides. Or even cuts, broken limbs and even torn ligaments that arise from the same. 
Some serious injuries that result from amusement park rides include stroke that stems from the ligaments found on the neck sustaining massive physical shock. Head injuries from surmounting G-forces or strain exerted on the brain by the extremely fast speeds of these rides. In the extreme scenario, victims can also drown while having fun on water slides or lazy water rides. Some victims have also been known to die from tumbling or been forcefully ejected from amusement park rides.
If statistics from the federal consumer product safety commission are to be believed, 8,800 individuals sustained injuries while riding these rides in 2006 alone. This number only accounts for those injuries that necessitated emergency room treatment. Which certainly means the overall tally is much higher than this. At the same time, 3500 individuals sustained injuries that arose from inflatable rides like inflatable slides or moon bounces. While 3100 more were injured while enjoying public water rides.
An important thing to note in all this is that children represent about 50% of these figures. With those falling under the 10 to 14 years age bracket been the most hard hit and make up for 17.9% of the total figure. Additionally, kids also account for 75% of the victims sustained injuries from falling or been forcefully ejected from these rides. According to the same data, 51 individuals lost their lives from 1987- 2000, with roller coasters and whirling rides claiming most of these fatalities, and registered 16 and 11 deaths respectively.
Let us now look at some of the most common amusement park ride accident causes. To begin with, mechanical failure is one of the leading causes of such accidents. For instance, the lap bar of a roller coaster can detach itself while the ride is in transit. On the flipside, a structural part of these rides can break , which is largely attributable to a manufacturing defect or the park’s administrators failing to properly maintain them. Wrong operation of amusement rides is also a common cause of these accidents. This can occur when the operator suddenly halts the ride or incorrectly fastens the seat belts.
Rider error and failure to adhere to instructions has also been known to trigger amusement park accidents time and again. For example, a rider can accidentally rock the car, stand up while the ride is in transit or even unfasten safety restraints. Finally, these incidents can also occur due to the inherently dangerous aspect of amusement rides, and victims can sustain injuries simply by their rapidly spinning effects. Should you or a loved one have sustained injuries from amusement park rides, you are legally entitled to file a negligence lawsuit against the park or its employees. Or even a product liability lawsuit against a manufacturer for selling a faulty ride. (To learn more about product liability lawsuit, please contact The Law Offices of Payas, Payas, and Payas in Orlando, FL)
