Good question. Because your chances of avoiding injury and death on amusement rides are directly tied to your understanding of the risks they present and how to avoid them, researchers have made several studies of that very question. But our amusement park ride injury lawyers point out that it’s always hard to gather data because there’s no consistent scheme for reporting ride injuries or fatalities in the United States. Some states don’t require that they be reported at all. And in other states, enforcement of ride safety and reporting requirements might be so weak that some parks just don’t bother.

Researchers often have to get their information from news reports, just like the rest of us. And since injuries or deaths among park employees or ride operators is generally less shocking somehow, our amusement park ride injury lawyers note that these accidents get underreported. Even though almost 30% of ride accident victims are park employees or ride operators.

But after obsessive gathering of data and careful analysis by concerned researchers, certain hazard patterns begin to emerge. A review of 90 amusement ride accidents presented the following picture of the top 5 hazard patterns for riders:

1. Mechanical failures like missing latch pins, broken welds, exposed electrical wires, broken structural components, broken drive chains, malfunctioning lap bars and safety restraints, failure to shut off power to the ride, improper detachment of cars, and improper detachment of essential structural components.

2. Ride operator errors like stopping the ride too abruptly (which could cause severe blunt trauma injuries), improper assembly of the ride, negligent maintenance of the ride, and defeating or disabling safety equipment such as the brakes or automatic overheat cutoff switches.

3. Rider misbehavior like standing up in a moving ride, intentionally rocking cars, defeating or disabling safety restraints, sitting improperly such as sideways or with feet above the lap bar, holding children above the safety restraints, or striking or throwing things at other riders or people on the ground as the ride is moving. Our amusement park ride injury lawyers mention that sometimes riders have pressed operator control panel buttons to restart the ride at the wrong times, injuring or killing other riders.

4. Forces exerted while the ride is abruptly changing speed or direction that might cause faintness, dizziness, intracranial hemorrhage, eye hemorrhage, cardiac problems, retinal tears, cerebral edema, aortic laceration, headache, and/or loss of consciousness.

5. Combinations of the other hazard patterns. (Source: Amusement Ride-Related Injuries and Deaths in the United States, 1987-2000, C. Craig Morris, PhD, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, August 2001)

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Download our free report. If you have any questions about your own accident injury, feel free to contact us. The amusement park ride injury lawyers at Denena Points, PC offer a FREE initial legal consultation to discuss your serious accident and evaluate your potential eligibility for a full financial recovery for your injuries. And we never charge you attorneys’ fees unless we win your case. Call us at 713-807-9500 or just fill out our simple online contact form to get your free initial legal consultation.