Summer is fast approaching and for a lot of families, that means it is time for a trip to a Florida theme park. Florida amusement parks attract millions of people each year, but with the heavy crowds comes a significant number of accidents.
While there are several types of accidents that can occur at a theme park, many of them involve the rides. Amusement park accidents involving rides may occur due to:
- Mechanical failure: Ride components malfunction causing derailments or other issues
- Design defects: Poorly designed rides increase the risk of injury.
- Operational errors: Ride operators fail to follow park policy and safety guidelines when running the rides.
- Poor maintenance of rides
- Failure to conduct routine inspections
- Failure to properly supervise and/or train employees
- Failure to update safety features
In addition to accidents involving rides, many theme park visitors are injured due to slip-and-fall accidents. Slip and falls are often caused by:
- Spilled food and drinks
- Water spillage from rides
- Gravel and other debris
- Uneven ground surfaces
Proving negligence following a theme park accident
Several parties may be liable for a theme park accident due to negligence, including theme park owners. If you are injured in an amusement park accident, you can file a personal injury claim against the owner of park where your accident occurred. To prove your case, you will have to establish negligence by showing that:
- The park owner owed you a duty of care, as a lawful visitor/theme park invitee, to take reasonable steps to ensure your safety.
- There was a dangerous condition on the premises that the owner knew about or should have known about, but failed to reasonably address.
- The hazard or dangerous condition on the premises caused you to suffer injuries.
Keep in mind that the theme park will likely allege that you were responsible for your own injuries by failing to pay attention or failing to follow safety protocols while on the rides. However, under Florida’s modified comparative negligence statute, you can recover damages even if you are partially responsible for your own accident, as long as you are 50% or less responsible.
