A tragic accident at a water park has resulted in the owner of a water park and the designer of a water slide facing criminal charges, according to the New York Times. The indictment indicates that the slide violated basic design principles. There is also evidence that the slide failed safety testing before the tragic accident and that previous patrons of the water park had also sustained serious injuries on the slide before a fatal accident occurred.
When accidents happen at amusement parks or water parks, victims need to understand their rights. In many circumstances, those who have been hurt can take legal action to obtain compensation from the amusement park or water park owner or operator. This is true even in circumstances where victims signed release forms that purport to absolve the park owners of liability for injuries. These release forms do not protect negligent owners or operators from being held responsible for injury, as those who sign them assume only the known risks and aren’t giving up their rights to take action when a park owner’s failures are the cause of harm.
Determining how to take action after an injury at an amusement park or water park is complicated, but an Atlanta personal injury lawyer can provide the necessary assistance in pursuing your claim under premises liability laws.
Tragic Water Park Accident Leads to Criminal Prosecution
According to the New York Times, the faulty design of a large water slide resulted in a young boy who was riding the slide losing his life. The water slide was billed as the world’s tallest, and the owners of the slide were eager to open it before a travel show came to town. The slide was 170 feet tall and it was opened just 20 months from the time when the water park operator first came up with the plan. Unfortunately, the slide had serious design flaws, did not follow basic engineering principles, and was not designed by professionals with knowledge of how to ensure that its operation would be safe.
Tragically, the park owner and those involved in the conception and installation of the slide were aware of the dangers and yet did nothing. The indictment that the New York Times reported on indicated that officials knew that the slide put riders at risk, and indicated that company officials were so concerned about the slide that they feared for their own safety when going down it.
Accidents began to occur almost as soon as people started to use the slide, with at least 14 people sustaining injuries. Unfortunately, the water park operators continued to allow people to use the slide without warning as to the serious dangers until a 10-year-old boy was tossed from the slide, hit a metal pole, and was decapitated. The slide owner and designer will now face criminal charges.
While this accident was a particularly egregious one, park operators routinely fail in their obligations in ways that jeopardize visitors. When this occurs, victims should pursue a claim for compensation to ensure they are able to get the money they need for recovery from those responsible for harming them.
Have You Been Injured On Someone Else’s Property?
If you’ve been injured due to neglect while on someone else’s property, you need to speak with an experienced premises liability lawyer as soon as possible. Contact us online or call our office directly at (800) 234-9556 to schedule your free consultation.