Amusement Park Negligence

Southern California is the Amusement Park Capitol of the world.  Internationally known for Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Universal Studios, Warner Brothers Studios, Magic Mountain, Legoland and Sea World.  In a typical year, an average of 7,000 injuries occur due to amusement park ride accidents, some resulting in deaths.

Whenever a serious or fatal accident occurs due to an amusement park ride, the corporations who own these multimillion dollar parks are always asked, “How many people are injured on or at your amusement park ride each year?”  The amusement park corporation’s public relations mouth piece’s typical response is, “We’re not exactly sure, but we don’t think anyone else has been injured on that particular ride, but we’re looking into the accident ourselves.”

There is no federal law or national agency which requires all amusement park ride operators in every state to file accident reports.  In California, most amusement parks are required to report accidents to the state and county agencies.

Catastrophic accidents receive national media attention forcing governmental investigation of that particular accident.  The Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission has jurisdiction over amusement park mobile rides.  This Federal Commission maintains the most comprehensive database on amusement park ride accidents.  The CPSC documents amusement ride fatalities and estimates amusement ride injuries.  The CPSC data on deaths is more precise since they document actual deaths.                                     

The great majority of amusement park ride accidents occur due to the following:

  • Operator of amusement park ride was “negligent”- Operator of amusement park ride was “not properly instructed on safety precautions”
  • Operator of amusement park ride was “not paying attention” to see if riders were properly secured in the ride- The amusement park equipment was “defectively designed” creating dangerous conditions
  • The amusement park ride was negligently maintained (i.e., negligent maintenance and negligent repair of the ride’s component parts)

If you or a loved one is involved in an amusement park ride accident:

  • Insist that a governmental report is filed by the Police Department, Cal OSHA, Sheriff Department, Fire Department etc.
  • Photograph accident scene immediately.
  • Shut up!  Other than your attorney or doctor, do not talk to anyone about the accident or your injuries.  Do not talk to the amusement park representatives or to an insurance adjuster for the amusement park investigation.  Do not volunteer a statement to any insurance company.  Sign absolutely  nothing without consulting an experienced lawyer.- Keep all receipts for all medical expenses and/or funeral bills and wage loss.
  • Seek prompt medical attention from the hospital and/or your own doctor.  Do not accept care from the amusement park ride attendants, they are not doctors!  Do not get suckered into receiving a “free line cut pass” for the rest of the day when a family member is seriously injured, this will affect the outcome of your jury trial results and/or settlement proceeds amount.
  • Contact the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler or another experienced law firm immediately to protect your rights and to preserve the evidence of the defective ride!

Demand accountability from those responsible for the amusement park accidents.  Many times the insurance companies will play “hardball” if you try to settle the case yourself or you have employed a lawyer who does not have the litigation experience to handle such a complex case,  We at the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler have twenty-five years of litigation experience and know how to handle the insurance companies to your advantage.  We are prepared to front all costs required for the necessary investigation and expert witnesses needed to prepare your case for trial.

The laws regarding amusement park injury/death cases are complex and include many facets of the law. It is vital to surviving family members to seek the advice of an experienced amusement park injury/death lawyer such as Gary A Kessler at the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler to protect your rights and those of your loved ones.

The California wrongful death attorney Gary A Kessler and the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler are compassionate and fully understand that you are attempting to cope with extreme grief and sorrow associated with the loss of a loved one in a tragic amusement park accident.  The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler carefully selects its wrongful death cases so that we may give you (the client) the substantial personal attention necessary to obtain a successful result for your amusement park accidental death case.

The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler is prepared to front all costs required for a thorough investigation and expert witnesses to prepare for trial of your case.  As in all wrongful death and serious personal injury cases, we advance all legal costs to prepare and present our client’s claim, and receive for our services only a percentage of what we recover for our attorney fees on their behalf.  Upon settlement our costs shall be reimbursed to us from the gross recovery.  If there is no recovery, no attorneys fees or costs are owed to our firm.


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Gary Kessler, California Personal Injury Lawyer Disclaimer: The California personal injury, wrongful death, swimming pool drowning, boating accident, dog bite, amusement park negligence, pedestrian accident, product liability, aviation accidents, or any other California legal information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice, nor the creation of a lawyer or attorney client relationship. The information contained herein is intended for information purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. All results described on this site were based on the individual facts of those said cases and are not indicative of future settlements. Results will differ from case to case. Please contact Gary A. Kessler, a California lawyer at our California law firm offices in Newport Beach or our San Francisco Bay Area office.

The Law Offices of Gary A. Kessler are licensed to practice in California, District of Columbia & Pennsylvania. Through local law firms with which we have associations, we are able to represent Personal Injury and Wrongful Death cases across the United States. Our associations allow us to represent clients"pro hac vice", meaning "for this particular occasion". In order to effectively and efficiently represent the client in these cases, we will employ the local law firms (at no additional cost to our client) to make routine court appearances and proceedings where it is necessary to assist our clients case.