Who Should I Contact if I Get Into an Amusement Park Accident?

Who should I contact if I get into an amusement park accident? This is one question many people ask following an injury at an amusement park. Understandably, you may know where to start when you or your loved one gets injured at an amusement park. But that's not something you need to worry about anymore — this article explains everything you need to know about amusement park injuries, including who to contact. 

When you visit an amusement park, you don't usually expect to get injured. That's why it's called an amusement park in the first place. Instead, you expect to have fun with your friends or family, without the fear of getting hurt. But, unfortunately, amusement park accidents are not uncommon in the United States. In 2017, there were around 1,171 ride-related injuries in the country, according to the National Safety Council. 

These statistics prove that no one is immune to amusement park accidents. However, someone needs to be held accountable for their negligence, ensuring that the victims are well compensated for the damages suffered.

If you or your loved one has been involved in an amusement park injury, it's important to contact medical experts as soon as possible. Such accidents can be life-threatening, while some come with life-changing effects. 

For instance, if you fall off a ride, you could suffer serious injuries requiring multiple surgeries. And you may not be the same person again even after the surgery. 

Even if you don't experience any symptoms right after the injury, you still need to consult a doctor for a medical examination. This is because there's always the possibility of suffering internal injuries after such an accident. Such injuries are usually even more dangerous because they are not visible to the naked eye. And by the time doctors notice internal injuries, it may be too late for the victim. 

Contacting a medical provider or emergency medical services also helps establish the extent of your injury and confirms its existence. It may be impossible to obtain compensation without proof of medical treatment for such injuries.

After seeking medical treatment, the next thing to do is to contact a personal injury attorney. Here's how and why an attorney can help with your amusement park accident claim. 

How Can a Personal Injury Attorney Help?

Here's a more in-depth look at how a personal injury attorney can help with your claim.

Interpreting Local Regulations 

The sad truth about amusement parks in the United States is that some are not regulated. This is common in states like Mississippi, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Alabama, and Montana. 

On the other hand, although some states may have regulations for amusement parks, such recreational facilities are usually regulated only by state and local governments. The biggest challenge with such regulations is that they vary from one jurisdiction to another. 

For this reason, it's much more difficult to file a successful claim without an attorney. Given that injury attorneys are familiar with different laws and regulations in the states they serve, you can count on them to file a claim against the appropriate entity or individual responsible for your injury.

Filing an Appropriate Claim

Claims deriving from amusement park injuries fall under different categories, mostly depending on the extent of the injury and the cause. When you contact an experienced attorney to review your case, they'll determine the party responsible for the injury based on two main factors:

The Act of Negligence
This applies if someone at the amusement park failed to act reasonably or responsibly, either directly or indirectly, causing the injury as a result. To prove negligence, the attorney will have to conduct thorough legal research, interview witnesses, collect expert opinion, and so on. 

This also explains why it's always advisable to contact not just any personal injury attorney but one with sufficient legal resources to fight for your rights. Remember, the processes mentioned above require a lot of time, money, and legal infrastructure, something you can only get at established personal injury law firms like Morgan & Morgan, the largest in the United States. 

To prove negligence, the attorney must also demonstrate that:

• there was an unsafe condition at the amusement park, which injured the plaintiff (you)
• the park was aware of the unsafe condition that injured the plaintiff
• despite being aware of the unsafe condition, the park did not fix or remove it
• the plaintiff wouldn't have suffered injuries if it wasn't for the unsafe condition

In addition, to prove the four elements mentioned above, the attorney must be committed to your case. The last thing you want is an attorney who has no time for you or doesn't show commitment to your case. Chances are, you'll not recover the compensation you need and deserve when you work with such an attorney.

Product Liability 
Negligence aside, the amusement park injury could be caused by defective equipment. In that case, the attorney might file a product liability claim against the defective product's manufacturer. But, unlike many other claims, product liability claims aren't the easiest to prove. 

Here's why.

Let's assume the accident was caused by a defective design. In that case, the plaintiff must prove that the design was faulty. This may require the intervention of experts to actually demonstrate the specific defects in that particular design. But that's not all — the plaintiff might be required to prove that the manufacturer could create a different, better design that would have prevented the accident. 

In addition to that, some courts may require the plaintiff to prove that the cost of the design could have been less than the plaintiff's medical expenses arising from the injury. 

Of course, this isn't the easiest claim to prove if you work with an attorney who doesn't have enough legal resources to keep fighting for your rights. Remember, amusement parks make millions or billions of dollars every year, depending on their size. For this reason, they won't have a problem hiring an experienced attorney with the legal resources required to dismiss your claim.

This further explains why it's important to work with an attorney or law firm with sufficient legal infrastructure to bring down even the biggest bully in the country. That's exactly one of the many benefits of contacting Morgan & Morgan. Our law firm has helped our clients recover over $20 billion in compensation for different types of personal injury claims, including amusement park injuries.

In 2018, our attorneys represented three Daytona Beach roller coaster accident victims. In 2017, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shut down the roller coaster following an investigation that revealed multiple acts of negligence, including excessive corrosion, damaged bolts, cracked bracings, and an identified electrical problem.

Identifying the Party Responsible

It's important to identify the party responsible for the injury to stand a chance of obtaining fair compensation for your injuries. Depending on the cause of the accident, you may be able to hold one or more parties responsible. 

Examples of such parties include:

Amusement Park Owners
Amusement park owners have a legal responsibility to keep the amusement park safe for all patrons. If they acted negligently, causing injuries to you or your loved one, you need to speak to an attorney. 

Product Manufacturer
As mentioned before, some products or equipment may not be fit for use at amusement parks. For example, a bad design could cause serious injuries or even death to ride-goers, and it's important to hold the manufacturer of such products responsible. This not only helps secure compensation for victims but also sends a strong warning to other manufacturers of similar products that they have a legal responsibility to guarantee their client's safety.

If established that the product manufacturer acted negligently, the court might award the plaintiff punitive damages. These damages are awarded to serve as a lesson to other individuals or entities with the same degree of responsibility for their clients. 

Ride Operators
Ride operators can also be sued for negligence leading to an amusement park accident. For example, failure to ensure that each patron is safe before starting a roller coaster could result in serious accidents. 

Preparing for Lawsuit Defenses

The sad truth about such lawsuits is that they're never easy to settle. The defense will always attempt different tactics to discredit or dismiss your injuries. That's very frustrating and painful, especially when you reflect on the life-changing effects caused by the injury.

It's even more heartbreaking if your loved one lost their life due to such an accident. Unfortunately, while you'd expect the defense to sympathize with you and do the right thing by settling the case, they'll most likely employ different tactics to frustrate your efforts to seek compensation. 

But that's not something you need to worry about when you have an attorney from Morgan & Morgan working on your case. Our injury attorneys have handled countless cases and dealt with even the biggest insurance companies in the country. We know what it takes to face them in court. And, given our experience in handling such cases, we can almost accurately predict their defenses. 

For instance, they may claim that you didn't comply with safety rules before the accident. Some may claim that you didn't read disclaimers on amusement park tickets or even argue the assumption of risk. Whatever the reason, we know what to expect from the other party's representatives and are always prepared to counter their allegations with facts and truth. 

Calculating Your Settlement

After proving beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant was responsible for the amusement park accident, an attorney can also help calculate the amount you're entitled to as compensation. Several factors come into play when calculating the settlement amount. Depending on the type and extent of injury, you may receive compensation for: 

• medical expenses
• pain and suffering
• lost wages
• loss of earning capacity and
• other out-of-pocket expenses deriving from the injury

Interpreting the Law

Each state has its own set of laws governing amusement parks. Since personal injury attorneys are familiar with such laws, they can always review your options before filing a claim. 

You'd expect amusement parks to be highly regulated, given the amount of human traffic they handle and the number of accidents recorded over the past few years. That's usually not the case, and many amusement park owners use this to their advantage. They know that it's much more difficult to come after them when you get injured at the amusement park. 

But this also depends on the kind of attorney you choose to work with.

For example, when you work with an established personal injury law firm with a proven track record, like Morgan & Morgan, it sends a strong message to the defendants that you can't be bullied. This is because, at Morgan & Morgan, we are the biggest injury law firm in the United States. In addition, our firm comprises aggressive attorneys who take our client's rights very seriously.

We understand how unregulated amusement parks are across the country and strongly believe that it's necessary to hold responsible individuals or entities accountable for their actions. We've been serving clients all over the US for more than three decades and recovered over $20 billion worth of settlement for different personal injury cases. 

Morgan & Morgan is a law firm for the people. We know how it feels to suffer injuries caused by someone else's negligence but fail to hold them accountable because you can't afford an attorney. The most painful part is that such entities or individuals can afford attorneys at the snap of their fingers. 

This is why we provide free consultation to our clients. Yes, you read that right — you don't need to pay a cent to talk to our legal representatives about your amusement park accident. Similarly, when we take on your case, you don't owe us anything unless we win.

Amusement parks make millions or even billions of dollars every year; don't sit back in pain after suffering injuries due to their negligence. Call us today at 877-470-3431 to speak to one of our representatives. Alternatively, fill out our free case evaluation form online, and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.