Tampa Amusement Park Injury Lawyer

While amusement parks are generally a place for fun and adrenaline, serious injuries do happen. Whether a Florida local or tourist, an experienced Tampa amusement park injury attorney can help your family seek compensation for medical bills, loss of wages, and more if you've been injured from negligence at any of our famous parks.

Fiol & Morros Law Group can handle all types of amusement park accident claims: slip and falls, ride malfunctions, sexual assault, spinal cord injuries, amputations, wrongful death, and more. Our amusement park injury attorneys have years of experience handling cases for clients in the state of Florida. Our lawyers can help you hold an amusement park, an employee, or a product manufacturer responsible for your damages. Call (813) 223-6773 for a free consultation today.

Florida Legal Framework: Amusement Park Injury Claims

Florida amusement park injury cases can involve three distinct legal theories that may apply simultaneously. Understanding which theory governs your case determines who you can sue, what you must prove, and what damages are available. The Florida Amusement Ride Safety Act (F.S. §616.242) also imposes independent safety obligations on ride operators, and violations are evidence of negligence per se.

About Florida Amusement Parks

People flock to Florida from all over the world to experience our many famous theme parks, water parks, and amusements: Disney World, Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, Universal Studios, Legoland, Weeki Wachee, and so many more. These are high-excitement, high-action, high-technology establishments enjoyed by millions of visitors that bring in enormous profits for the corporations that design, build, and operate them. Other smaller local amusement parks and traveling carnivals exist around the state as well. Unfortunately, not all park owners look out for the safety and well-being of guests. This can lead to property hazards and risks that cause serious or fatal guest injuries.

The Park Owner's Responsibility to Visitors

This places an enormous responsibility on park owners to ensure that the fun-seekers who visit their properties enjoy a safe and healthy experience. This requires implementing safety procedures around the operation and maintenance of rides and attractions, keeping visitors safe from animals in live exhibits and elsewhere on park grounds, and keeping the grounds free from hazards. By law, anyone who operates a property where the public is invited or allowed owes a "duty of care" to its visitors to prevent them from being injured or killed on the premises by a hazardous condition that the responsible party either created or allowed to exist without providing appropriate warnings or barriers.

The owner or operator of the park is also responsible for the selection and training of its workers to ensure that rides and attractions are properly maintained and operated according to strict safety standards. Employees should be properly trained and screened to ensure they have no serious criminal background involving violent crimes or sexual offenses. Park owners should also take steps to ensure their grounds are free from other criminal activity that could result in victimization of visitors, by providing appropriate security measures.

A failure in the responsibility for maintenance and security of a theme park, amusement park, or water park that results in injuries or fatalities can create owner liability for the injured party's damages in a premises liability or negligent security cause of action.

Defects in Design or Manufacture of Amusement Attractions

In addition to the responsibility of the park owners for visitor safety, companies that design and manufacture the high-speed, adrenaline-producing rides that these parks feature have a responsibility for the safety of those who use their rides. When accidents and injuries are caused by improper design or manufacture of the rides, the company that supplied them or the designer may be held liable in a product liability legal action.

Amusement Park Injury Statistics

While theme parks and roller coasters are usually safe, it is inevitable, given their size, number of visitors, and fast-moving amusements, that accidents will happen, many of which could be prevented by increased care for visitor safety. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimated that in 2016, around 30,900 injuries serious enough to require an emergency room visit were caused by amusement park attractions in parks and traveling carnivals and fairs, and that there have been roughly 22 deaths since 2010. These figures do not include water parks. CPSC data show that thousands of people require emergency room treatment each year for injuries ranging from lacerations to concussions, broken limbs, and spinal cord injuries. Several drownings and near-drownings have also occurred in water parks.

Injury Statistics in Local Parks

Florida is home to some of the largest and most popular amusement parks in the country. This also makes it one of the most common settings for amusement park accidents, injuries, and deaths. The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Ride Safety Report highlights key facts on related injuries in the U.S., including accidents in Florida:

• Hundreds of millions of people enjoy well over a billion rides across more than 400 amusement parks and facilities in North America each year. The odds of suffering a serious injury on a fixed-site ride are about 1 in 18 million.
• In a recent reporting year, the estimated number of ride-related injuries was 1,171. About 10% of these injuries were serious, meaning they required immediate hospitalization for longer than 24 hours or resulted in death.
• The majority of injuries took place on family and adult rides, followed by roller coasters and kids' rides. Injury due to the motion of the ride was the dominant type. Most reportable injuries on kids' rides, however, were from getting on or off the ride.
• Since 2006, the state of Florida has processed more than 400 theme park injury reports. About one-third of those reports involve motion sickness, while others reported chest pain.
• Within those 400 injury and illness reports from Florida amusement parks, there have been 14 reported deaths. At least seven of the victims had pre-existing health conditions prior to the incident.

National databases track injuries and illnesses from fixed-site rides. They do not, however, include statistics for rides that are only on a site part of the time, such as those at a temporary carnival or fair. The true amusement park injury rate is likely higher than what the CPSC estimates. For current ride safety data, you can visit the IAAPA official resource center.

Most Common Amusement Park Injuries in Tampa

Tampa is a city of amusements. Busch Gardens, Adventure Island, and Legoland are three of the most popular amusement parks in the area, on top of attractions such as the ZooTampa at Lowry Park and seasonal carnivals. In a day of family fun, the last thing you might expect is to leave the park in an ambulance. Yet every year, hundreds of amusement park visitors suffer minor to serious injuries, ranging from broken bones to traumatic brain injuries. After any injury at a Tampa amusement park, seek counsel from an attorney.

Neck and Back Injuries

Part of the fun of an amusement park is the chance to enjoy thrilling rides. Unfortunately, some rides leave park-goers with more than just fun memories. The most common amusement park ride injuries stem from the motion of the ride. Head, neck, and back injuries are all common harms from typical ride motions. Roller coasters can make sudden turns, twists, stops, and accelerations that whip the head and neck around, causing tears and other injuries. Even a "minor" back injury can cause chronic pain and permanent disability.

Brain Injuries

If a ride causes the skull to strike any part of the carrier, or a malfunction results in equipment or debris striking the head, riders can suffer serious head and brain injuries. The same is true in slip, trip, and fall accidents in which park-goers hit their head. Concussions from roller coasters are the most common brain injuries, but more serious harms such as contusions, open-head brain injuries, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are all possible. The normal motion of a ride can cause concussions, whiplash, or more serious injuries such as a diffuse axonal brain injury, the type that stems from excessive shaking of the brain within the skull. Serious brain injuries can permanently affect cognitive abilities, range of motion, and other functions.

Lacerations

Lacerations can happen if a poorly maintained amusement park has hazards such as exposed or jagged metal. Lacerations may require stitches and can cause permanent scars, and there is also the risk of infection. Negligent amusement park owners and maintenance teams could be liable for lacerations that occur due to property hazards. Major theme parks, such as those owned by Disney and Anheuser-Busch, carry large insurance policies, so if you can prove the elements of a personal injury case and demonstrate that the park was at fault, the coverage will usually be sufficient to cover your damages. Smaller local amusement parks, carnivals, or fairs might not be as well insured.

Wrongful Death

Some amusement park goers will never come home. Amusement park accidents can be deadly, unexpectedly taking the life of a loved one. If someone you love never returned from a trip to a Florida amusement park or carnival, your family has rights. If someone else's negligence contributed to the fatal incident, you may be eligible for financial compensation. At Fiol & Morros Law Group, we know compensation will not make up for your loss, but we hope it can provide financial stability during this difficult time.

Only the personal representative of the deceased person's estate can file a wrongful death claim in Florida. The deceased person's will may have named a representative, or the courts will appoint one. The representative brings the claim on behalf of surviving dependents, such as children, a spouse, or parents. The claimant has two years from the date of death to file the claim. Missing the deadline could mean losing the right to obtain any compensation from the at-fault party.

Finding the Right Amusement Park Injury Attorney

At Fiol & Morros Law Group, with offices in Tampa and Orlando, we have extensive experience winning recovery awards for clients who have suffered all types of personal injuries because of another party's negligence or wrongdoing. We have handled many cases against Florida's amusement and theme parks and are familiar with their insurers and the tactics they use to try to diminish the value of claims against them. We are aggressive and firmly committed to justice for every client we agree to represent.

When a long-anticipated vacation or a spur-of-the-moment weekend getaway to one of Florida's parks goes wrong, we are here to offer the legal support you need. Our goal is to maximize the chances of a fair outcome that allows you and your family to move on with life after an injury or death during what should have been a day of fun in the Florida sun.

Our attorneys are powerful negotiators and are often able to settle a case without your having to go to court. But if a trial is required to get you a fair amount of compensation for your losses, we are seasoned, experienced trial lawyers, always ready to take your thoroughly prepared case to a jury. We have recovered millions of dollars for our clients over the years, and our amusement park injury attorneys are here to help you.

Free Consultation with an Amusement Park Injury Attorney

Call to schedule a free case consultation with a Tampa amusement park injury attorney. Tell us your story, and we will give you the guidance you need to navigate the Florida legal system and achieve a just resolution of your claim. There are statutory restrictions on the amount of time you have to file your claim, so call us today to protect your right to a monetary recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions About Amusement Park Injuries in Tampa