The insurance company says that there are 73 claims related to waterpark slides since the waterpark opened three years ago. That’s nearly 25 per year.

One of the most notable claims involves a man who was paralyzed on a Universal water slide. Another involves a man who required a penile implant after an injury on a Universal water slide.

An attorney familiar with the case commented that the number of claims in three years is troubling. Firstly, the waterpark is only three years old. That suggests two things. The construction of the waterslides themselves are dangerous, and even with the latest technology in ride safety, Universal Studios constructed unsafe water slides.

Whose Fault Is It, Anyway?

 Admiral Insurance, Co. insures both ProSlide Technology, which engineered Universal’s rides and Universal itself. They recently filed a lawsuit against the companies to strip Proslide and Universal of their coverage.

According to the lawsuit, Admiral alleges that Universal waited years before telling either Admiral or ProSlide about the various injuries that patrons of the park were suffering. Admiral further states that they are only responsible for covering claims two years after the park opened. That window has since elapsed without Universal filing the claims. Now Admiral wants to shift the liability to either Universal or another insurance company.

When Was ProSlide Notified? 

ProSlide would be named in any lawsuit against Universal since they engineered the ride and Universal made it available to the public. However, Universal failed to notify ProSlide about any of the injury incidents until several months after they occurred, seriously complicating matters.

At least some of these lawsuits have already been settled. In one incident related to a raft ride, a 13-year-old girl became trapped under a 200 lb. raft after she fell off. She appeared to lose consciousness and nearly drowned. A lifeguard managed to save her. Universal settled this lawsuit but forced the plaintiffs to sign a gag order, so no one knows what the details of the settlement were. This lawsuit was settled in mid-2019, but Universal didn’t notify ProSlide of the incident until April of 2020. An executive for ProSlide said this was unusual, and that ride manufacturers are typically notified immediately if there is an injury incident. Without notice, they say, that they assume that their rides are operating safely.

Talk to an Amusement Park Injury Lawyer

Amusement parks are generally strictly liable when their rides malfunction. If you’ve been injured on a ride, call the Miami personal injury attorneys at the office of Alan Goldfarb, P.A. today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can help you recoup financial and emotional losses.

Resource:

orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-bz-volcano-bay-insurance-lawsuit-20200826-zgpmdlkhybgm3amqa2lxajhfoi-story.html

https://www.goldfarbpa.com/universal-water-slide-implicated-in-paralysis-injury/

In Florida, however, Universal Studios is only required to report the incident if the customer’s injury requires a hospital stay of 24 hours or more. According to a Universal Studios spokesman, the plaintiff’s incident was the only one that required reporting.

But in depositions, Universal Studios was forced to divulge all other incident reports related to the water slide, of which there were 115. While most of the injuries included bruises, cuts, and scrapes, at least some of these incidents reports included whiplash. This is important due to the plaintiff’s allegations.

Why is This Slide Dangerous? 

With due deference to the defendant’s argument, the plaintiff claims that when he was coming off the ride, the force of the water on his neck caused it to snap back so suddenly that it damaged his spinal cord and vertebrae. This is significant since at least some of the riders who claimed they were injured on the slide reported that their injury was whiplash. Further, the plaintiff alleges that a test rider was injured in precisely the same way, making the current plaintiff’s injuries foreseeable.

Are There Instructions for Safely Enjoying the Slide?

Amusement park rides are fun because there is an element of danger. For this reason, amusement parks generally have signs or instructions on who the ride is safe for and how to ride it safely. As an example, this water slide could have instructed patrons of the park to keep their backs and heads absolutely flat as they were going down the slide. This would ostensibly prevent the types of injuries (like whiplash) that could lead to the most serious complications.

If there are instructions on the water park slide and the plaintiff failed to follow these instructions, it could reduce or even eliminate Universal Studios from liability. The question will, however, need to be decided by a jury.

Foreseeability in Premises Liability Claims

Amusement parks essentially fall under two areas of injury law. These are premises liability and product liability. Product liability lawsuits fall under strict liability. This means that if an amusement park ride malfunctions, the defendant is automatically responsible unless the plaintiff was given a clear and obvious warning concerning the particular ride. In a premises liability lawsuit, however, the plaintiff must show that the defendant was aware of a particular danger. In this case, the plaintiffs have already begun setting up a negligence-based action, which often a stronger and more damning argument for why the defendant should be held liable. Nonetheless, product liability is easier to prove.

Talk to a Miami Personal Injury Attorney

If you’ve been injured in an amusement park, the Miami personal injury attorneys at the office of Alan Goldfarb P.A. can help you hold the park accountable and recover damages related to your injuries. Call us today to schedule a free consultation and tell us more about your situation.

Resource:

time.com/5874501/injury-reports-volcano-bay-water-slide/

https://www.goldfarbpa.com/jury-sides-with-city-in-water-slide-injury/

Due to lawsuits or the potential for a malfunction, newer incarnations simply move the floor downward. If power were to go out or the ride malfunctioned for any reasons, riders would not drop 20ft to the ground.

This incarnation of the “Devil’s Hole” ride featured “couches” that riders stood on. The couch lowers while the rider stays where they are.

Conflicting Reports of What Happened

According to the fair officials, the child was not in the correct position and the individual responsible for running the ride instructed the child to stand correctly prior to the injury. Attorneys for the parents of the injured child, however, are claiming that the ride itself malfunctioned. When everyone else’s couches were descending, the child’s was ascending. This resulted in head injuries to the child.

Both agree is that the child hit his head on the ceiling of the ride, but an independent investigator said an individual would have to be over 7 feet tall for that to be possible.

So, we know that the child was injured, and we know that something went wrong. What we don’t know is whether or not the child’s actions resulted in something go wrong or some malfunction in the ride itself caused the injury.

A state investigation, however, concluded that it could find no evidence of malfunction with the ride.

What about Strict Liability?

Plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits do not always need to prove negligence. In some cases, only the fact that an injury occurred because of a product is enough to be entitled damages in a lawsuit. Unfortunately for this family, strict liability does not apply to amusement park rides.

It is assumed when an individual goes on an amusement park ride that they are taking some risk. So long as the amusement park takes reasonable precautions to ensure that the ride is functioning properly and there are no safety issues that they’re aware of, a lawsuit against a park is likely to fail.

In this case, the evidence heavily favors the companies that ran and set up the ride. Multiple reports said that the ride was functioning properly. That leaves only the child to blame for the incident.

If the plaintiff wants to keep this case going, they will have to find a witness who will corroborate their claim that the ride malfunctioned. Otherwise, they don’t have a leg to stand on.

Have You Been Injured?

If you’ve been injured and it wasn’t your own fault, then you may be entitled to damages. Contact Alan Goldfarb, P.A. in Miami at 305.371.3111 and we can get started on your case right away.

Resource:

tbo.com/news/courts/Lawsuit-Mother-says-Florida-State-Fair-ride-hurt-her-10-year-old-boy_167727087

Theme Park Rides and Statistics

Statistics from 2011-2103 tell us that the country’s amusement parks have nearly 300 million visitors annually, and of those, slightly over 1,100 were admitted to the hospital with serious injuries or killed. This is a very small number considering the amount of rides that occur on a given day at a given park—across the country these numbers add up to billions.

Though of course there is the possibility that the rides have not been properly maintained or have certain defects leading to mechanical failures, far more injuries are attributed to other causes including:

• Failing to abide by weight/height restrictions
• Improper or inadequate training of ride operators
• Minimal or non-existent warnings or safety demonstrations
• Failure to use safety belt/buckle properly or securely
• Rowdy behavior by other riders
• Riders bringing unauthorized items with them on the ride that could fall out or cause injury

These, of course, are only some of the many contributing factors to amusement park ride injuries, but being cognizant of these risks may help you keep a lookout for them in the future.

Safety Tips

Though there are certainly risks and associated deaths with the rides themselves, far more injuries occur on the amusement park grounds than the roller coasters. Premises liability lawsuits have arisen at amusement parks for unkempt grounds, failure to warn of adverse conditions, inadequate safety measures on trolleys or other intra-park transportation, or other inadequacies. If your child is too small to ride a ride, there is a reason for it. You may be able to bypass staff to sneak onto the ride, but at the expense of possibly injuring your child. If an area is roped off, there is likely a reason for it, even if the roped-off path might give you a shortcut to your next destination. The best advice is simple: follow the rules, read the signs, and you will protect everyone in your family from harm as best you can.

Miami Personal Injury and Products Liability Attorneys

At Alan Goldfarb P.A., we understand that all you want is a fun, safe trip to the amusement park with your family, and we are grateful that the vast majority of the time, you will return home safely without incident. We also know that accidents do happen. If you or a loved one has been injured on a ride or on the premises of an amusement park, you may be entitled to compensation. Our knowledgeable Miami-based personal injury and premises liability attorneys know how to navigate legal claims to ensure you obtain the compensation that you are entitled by law. We will work with the park authorities, their lawyers, the insurance companies, and your family to ensure the best possible outcome. If you have any questions about bringing a legal claim in Florida, please contact our Miami office today.