With the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo underway again this year, opening weekend at Six Flags in Arlington, and the summer amusement and carnival season about to launch, it’s important to remember ride safety as you anticipate the latest thrills and chills from roller coasters, spin rides, and other amusements. When amusement parks and carnivals fail in their legal duties to ensure your safety, they often face stiff monetary penalties for their negligence. But a multi-million dollar award to your surviving relatives is small consolation if you’re the one who suffers a fatal accident.
Operator error, ride design flaws, poor maintenance, and ride tampering can all cause serious injuries or deaths from a ride accident. But our roller coaster injury lawyers point out that your own behavior might also lead to a serious accident.
And if you feel unsafe as you’re being loaded into a ride, get off the ride. If you feel your lap bar, shoulder harness, or other safety restraint isn’t secure, get off the ride. It’s not worth the risk. Some reports indicate that ride workers felt that Rosy Esparza, who fell more than 70 feet to a gruesome death from the Texas Giant roller coaster at Six Flags this past summer, had not been securely locked into her seat before the ride began. But they did not make her get off the ride, or try another seat. Instead, she was forcibly ejected from the ride on the first steep incline.
While nausea, fainting, and dizziness are the most common ride injury complaints, some ride accidents, like the one on Six Flags’ Texas Giant roller coaster, and another a few years ago on the Hi Miler at the Houston Rodeo, could be fatal. And the brief, but extreme, stress forces of exciting rides can exacerbate existing medical conditions and lead to heart failure or other complications. Don’t take the risk. Our roller coaster injury lawyers emphasize that you’ll soon forget the thrill of even the most extreme ride. But recovering from a serious injury is a lengthy and costly process. And you won’t recover from a fatal injury at all.
Ride safely and soberly, and enjoy your spring and summer. (This unseasonable winter weather is bound to end eventually.) Click the link to learn about what the experienced roller coaster injury lawyers at Denena Points, PC could do to help you and your family financially recover after a serious ride accident.