Humans Still Run, And Make Mistakes In, Amusement Parks

Amusement park rides come in all shapes and sizes, and the parks they are located at or in, can be temporary or permanent. And while maintenance and physics play a large role in how safe amusement park rides are, there is still one factor that is the most important of all, and it is a factor that comes into play in every ride, in any park in the country: human error.

It doesn’t matter what kind of ride it is, how well it is maintained, or the safety features that a ride has. It all depends on the diligence, attention and  training of the humans that are operating the ride. Certainly, computers pick up much of the load when it comes to safety, but there are still things that can only be done by humans.

Accidents Caused by Human Error

Just look at the recent fatality in Orlando’s icon park, where a young teenage boy fell out of a ride to his death.

Yes, there is some talk about the safety measures that may or may not have worked or been utilized, but by all accounts the boy was much larger than the maximum height or weight that riders should have been. The failure to identify that the victim was too large and to stop the victim from getting on the ride, if that is in fact what happened, would be attributable to human error.

That would not be the first time human error played a role in amusement park accidents. In a 2010 Wisconsin amusement park ride, an attraction where riders were supposed to fall into a net above the ground below, the operator of the rider failed to deploy the net.

There are also multiple stories of ride operators that allowed riders with amputated limbs to get on rides they should not be riding. The lack of certain limbs can affect the ability of the ride’s safety harness features to properly and fully secure the rider and in many of these cases, riders have been injured or killed, when they were not able to be properly strapped onto rides.

Few, if Any, Regulations

Unfortunately there are little to no federal or state guidelines for amusement park safety, much less for training of amusement park workers. Workers may be distracted, underpaid or overworked, or else, not fully and properly trained to identify problem scenarios, or to understand how ride safety restrain features even work.

Common Defenses

Note that in many amusement park accidents, the park’s first reaction is to try to blame the victims; it is a common defense to say that the victim unrestrained himself, or that the victim did not remain seated or in whatever position a rider is supposed to be in.

Still, the fact remains that in many cases, we still rely on human beings, and when humans fail to do their jobs, accidents at amusement parks can, and do, happen.

Call the West Palm Beach personal injury attorneys at Pike & Lustig today for help if you have been injured in an amusement park or on an amusement park ride.

Sources:

wabi.tv/2022/08/30/report-concludes-ride-operator-error-maine-amusement-park-injury/

farandwide.com/s/worst-amusement-park-accidents-5d2b791956534c7a

youtube.com/watch?v=Q0BGg94I0zM