Theme Park, Amusement Park, and Fair Accidents

The State of Florida is filled with amusement parks, theme parks, and fairs. Florida is known as a designation location and a vacation spot. Orlando, Florida is home to some of the most famous and well visited theme parks including Walt Disney World, Sea World, and Universal Studios. Within the theme parks, there are a number of rides and attractions. Walt Disney World includes the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and the Animal Kingdom. Universal Studios includes Islands of Adventure. Millions of eager adults and children visit these theme parks in hopes of a special day and night of adventure. Unfortunate for some visitors, the day of adventure turns into one filled with the pain and sufffering associated with a personal injury. In addition to the well known theme parks in Orlando, you will find amusement parks and fairs throughout the State of Florida. With weather that permits outdoor entertainment just about year round, Florida is home to a number of fairs and festivals.

A local fair is a bit different than the corporate behemoth in the form of Disney World. No matter the size of the fair, amusement park, or theme park, there is a duty on behalf of all theme park, amusement park, and fair operators to maintain the property, improvements, rides, and attractions in a reasonably safe condition. There is a duty to assemble the attractions and rides in a reasonable manner. There is also an ongoing duty to inspect, maintain, and repair the rides and attractions as needed.

When a visitor to a theme park, amusement park, or fair is injured, is the operator or management company always liable? The simple answer to this question is "No". However, the operator or management company may be liable if the incident and related injuries were foreseeable and preventable. An injury victim must prove that the operator / management company had a duty of care and breached the duty of care which, in turn, was the proximate cause of the personal injury. Just because the operator / management company has a lot of money and assets does not mean that there is a good or viable case to pursue.

In addition to the rides and attractors, the property owner, management company, and operator have a duty to maintain the common areas in a reasonably safe condition. In most theme parks and amusement parks, there are walkways, restaurants, and bathrooms. The duty of care to maintain these areas in a reasonably safe condition is akin to these same areas in a shopping center or mall.

Keep in mind that Florida has adopted a comparative fault set of laws when dealing with premises liability cases like the ones against amusement parks, theme parks, and fairs. In other words, fault can be assessed against more than one party. Often, a Defendant or insurance company will attempt to place fault or blame on the injury victim for failing to watch were he or she is walking OR for failing to exercise due care while visiting the amusement park, theme park, or fair. Even if the injury victim is partially at fault, a case or claim can be pursued if fault can be established to some degree against the theme park, amusement park, or fair.

David Wolf is a personal injury attorney with over 30 years of experience handling personal injury cases including those related to amusement parks, theme parks, and fairs. If an adult or child is injured at one of these locations, there may be a legal / insurance case or claim to pursue on behalf of the injury victim. Get D Wolf On Your Side - At Your Side.