Houston ride accident lawyers point out that Ray Cammack Shows (RCS), which operates the carnival rides at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR), is one of the two largest traveling carnival ride operators in the United States. The largest operator is Mississippi-based N.A.M.E. 19 amusement ride operators provide the rides for the nation’s 50 largest attractions that host mobile carnival rides.
A database of carnival ride accident and incident reports shows that N.A.M.E. and RCS also had by far the largest numbers of reported accidents. N.A.M.E. had 27 while RCS had 25. But riders who have fallen victim to safety hazards on RCS rides claim that RCS doesn’t note or respond to their complaints of safety issues.
For example, our Houston ride accident lawyers note that Myra Rock told ride operators that the restraining lap bar on the first car of the Hi-Miler roller coaster had released repeatedly while she and her 6-year-old boy rode in that car during a ride. Myra Rock’s incident happened just days before Brian Greenhouse plunged to his death from the first car of the Hi-Miler roller coaster. Inquiries after Mr. Greenhouse’s tragic death showed that the Houston Rodeo in fact had no record of Ms. Rock’s complaint.
In 2009, Barbara Peterson and her 6-year-old girl rode in the front car of the Hi-Miler at the Houston Rodeo. She said that the restraining lap bar released and flew up until it was vertical at various points during the ride. She held on and screamed, holding her daughter tighter for safety until the ride stopped. She reported the problem after the ride and said the operator tested the bar. The bar would appear to lock, then pop right back out.
Reportedly, RCS continued to operate the ride at the Houston Rodeo in spite of her warning and the operator’s test that showed a flaw in the lap bar’s operation. Ms. Peterson said she notified several people at the Houston Rodeo about the problem, but that her complaint never went to the state or got acted upon. Her lawyer urged her to report the incident to the Texas Department of Insurance, which she did. Texas then notified HLSR and RCS of the complaint. They finally tested the ride, but at the time of that later test, they found nothing mechanically wrong.
The stories of Myra Rock and Barbara Peterson show that carnival ride injury and accident statistics might not tell the whole story. Information found by our Houston ride accident lawyers indicates that many incidents apparently never get reported. The stories of these two women and their children and of Brian Greenhouse seem to indicate that the first car of the RCS Hi-Miler has a chronic safety problem with the locking of the lap bar restraint.
Our Houston ride accident lawyers believe that before more people’s lives are put at risk, a more thorough examination needs to be done of the Hi-Miler and its safety features, especially on the first car. Feel free to contact us for a no-obligation, no-charge legal consultation if you have questions about injuries you’ve suffered from a ride accident. We have answers and the experience you need to obtain justice.