Relative Rate of Serious and Fatal Injuries at U.S. Amusement Parks
The IAAPA (an amusement park industry organization) helps conduct and promulgate the results of a voluntary Fixed-Site Amusement Ride Injury Survey. Our amusement ride injury attorneys note that the ride industry organization has a natural interest in minimizing the impact of serious and fatal amusement ride accidents on the public.
According to the IAAPA survey, in 2011, about 297 million guests visited 400 U.S. amusement parks and rode around 1.7 billion rides. 1,415 ride-related injuries were reported (and the amusement ride injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC note that not all parks are required to report injuries).
Ride Injuries that Require Hospitalization do Occur on a Regular Basis
Of the reported injuries in 2011, 61 were said to require at least an overnight hospital stay. According to the IAAPA data, your chances of being seriously injured on an amusement park ride are around 1 in 24 million. Your chances of being killed on such a ride are more than 1 in 75 million. But of course if you become the statistic, those numbers are no comfort to you or your family.
The IAAPA and the National Safety Council established the survey for fixed-site amusement rides to help reassure riders regarding the safety of amusement rides after a series of high profile accidents. Our amusement ride injury attorneys do note that the amusement rides are fairly safe statistically. It’s just that when serous accidents do occur, they often tend to very ugly and/or fatal.
The IAAPA report comes out each fall. Our amusement ride injury attorneys emphasize that the report only covers fixed-site amusement parks, not the traveling carnivals that have to disassemble and reassemble the rides each time they move sites. We mention that after each rebuild, the rides should be tested for safety. But whether they are tested or not depends on individual states’ inspection and safety requirements.
So, if you are going to a carnival, you might want to check your state’s amusement ride safety requirements and whether the individual carnival has complied with those requirements.
Download your FREE guide to Help Keep You or Your Child Safe on Roller Coasters and Other Rides
Click the book icon on this page to download your free guide. If you have questions about a particular ride injury, contact our amusement ride injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC for a FREE, no obligation initial legal consultation. We’re among the few attorneys nationwid4e with actual, successful experience with ride accidents. Contact us at 281-369-4363 or reach us by filling out our online contact form. Put our more than 12 years of complex personal injury experience to work for your benefit.