If you love roller coaster parks, theme parks, and amusement parks in general, you might not be aware that many of them are operating under vastly different safety, inspection, and accident reporting standards. Our hayride injury lawyers note that in the United States, there is no overall scheme for assuring the safety and regular inspection of amusement rides. But the problem with the patchwork of state amusement ride inspection laws is that when an accident happens, it’s harder to get the data needed to hold negligent parties accountable. Or to understand why an accident even happened.
Each state can set its own standards for amusement ride inspections, safety, and accident reporting requirements. Some states have no inspection and reporting requirements for amusement rides at all. And Florida, home of many of the world’s biggest theme parks, allows large amusement parks to self-regulate. In the United States, we also allow Congress to self regulate. And you see where that has gotten us.
Over the weekend, a serious injury accident occurred on a hayride on the Layman Family Farms in Bedford County, Virginia. A tractor and the wagon it was towing suffered a rollover wreck, which trapped several people underneath leading to serious injuries. Inspectors had been at the Layman Family Farms 10 days before the catastrophic rollover. They were doing their job. But the hayride injury lawyers at Denena Points, PC note that their job only required them to inspect the actual amusement rides, like the jumping pillow and the slide.
The wagons and the tractors fell under a farm exemption, which meant they didn’t get inspected at all. But post-accident investigation showed that a spring on the tractor involved in the rollover had broken. Once the spring had sprung, the tractor would not stay in park and instead rolled out of park to end in a rollover accident. (Source: WSET.com ABC13, 10/16/13)
Our hayride injury lawyers emphasize that the farm exemption meant that the tractor had not been inspected prior to the opening of Layman Family Farms for the fall amusement season. Even though the tractor became part of an amusement ride, a state technicality exempted it from the inspection which might have discovered impending disaster before it occurred.
Maybe it’s time to consider a national scheme of amusement ride regulation and get everyone on the same page. Perhaps there might be a way to implement this without adding to the already bloated and useless national bureaucracy. Browse our webpage to read more information from our experienced hayride injury lawyers about the patchwork of state amusement ride safety schemesand its effect on your risk when you visit an amusement attraction.