Thursday night, riders were dropped from as much as 30 feet up to fall and suffer severe injuries as the Vortex ride at the North Carolina State Fair unexpectedly zoomed back into motion as riders were disembarking from the cars. Our Vortex accident injury attorneys note that the injured victims of the ride accident ranged in age from 14- to 39-years-old. The NC State Fair Vortex injuries have led to an in-depth investigation.
The North Carolina Department of Labor is in charge of inspecting the rides at the State Fair. News accounts indicate that the rides are also inspected 3 times per day during the Fair. A wide range of variation in ride inspection and accident reporting requirements exists in the United States due to a lack of overall federal oversight of ride safety. The Vortex accident injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC realize that the many variations in state regulations can lead to confusion regarding who’s in charge of ride safety and what people should do after a serious accident.
Nationwide Vortex Accident Injury Attorneys: Learn about the Critical Steps to Take after a Serious Ride Accident Injury
Go to our Vortex accident injury attorneys’ amusement ride injury page. The page contains an internal search function to help you locate the information you need most. And don’t hesitate to contact us for a free and confidential initial legal consultation if you have more questions. We’ve helped other ride injury victims and their family members make multi-million dollar recoveries for the needless suffering they experienced after a ride went wrong. Reach us anytime by filling out our online contact form or call us directly at 713-807-9500.
The Vortex Ride at the NC State Fair Reportedly Malfunctioned on Monday Too
Investigators and inspectors were in the preliminary phase of an in-depth investigation on Thursday just after the accident. Investigators were looking at reports of a malfunction on the Vortex earlier this week to see if those reports related to Thursday’s accident. Accounts indicate that there was a faulty switch on Monday that locked passengers into their seats. Our Vortex accident injury attorneys note that the faulty switch on the Vortex was replaced following those reports.
Ride owners and operators may be particularly sensitive to such defects right now, given the horrific death of a woman on the Texas Giant roller coaster in Arlington, Texas this summer when her lap bar released during the ride and dropped her into a 70-foot fatal fall.
Other Accidents Linked to Ride Owners and Operators
This isn’t the first serious ride accident for the North Carolina State Fair. In 2002, the legs of passenger on a ride struck a midway worker and hurled that worker from a ride platform to death. And back in 1998, a wheel bearing seized up on a roller coaster, causing a rear-end wreck between three of the cars, and injuring three people. (Source: Adam Owens, Ken Smith, Leyla Santiago, and Julia Sims, WRAL.com, 10/24/13)
In addition, Powers Great American Midways, the manager of the Vortex ride at the North Carolina State Fair, experienced an injury accident just last summer with one of their rides. A boy fell from the Wacky Worm ride at a carnival in Danbury, Connecticut. In that particular case, investigations indicated that the boy opened his own lap restraint while the ride was in motion. The Vortex accident injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC emphasize that for safety reasons, riders should NOT be able to open their restraints while rides are in motion. Modern rides are often designed with computerized controls and diagnostics that will cause a ride to come to a halt if the computer detects that a restraint has opened during a ride.
And Family Attractions Amusements, owner of the Vortex ride, has faced 3 reported incidents of safety problems involving rider injuries brought before the ASO (Amusement Safety Organization). Our Vortex accident injury attorneys mention that ride operator error or possibly even a fairgoer who accessed the control panel are other possible sources of the sudden restart of the Vortex ride on Thursday night. At least 5 people were hospitalized from their Vortex injuries, and 3 of them remained hospitalized on Friday. At least two of them received critical injuries.