Amusement Park Injuries

Amusement parks and traveling carnivals offer an exciting escape from everyday life. They also offer mechanical hazards that can, and do, hurt visitors. According to estimates by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), more than 10,000 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for amusement ride-related injuries in 1999, an increase of 35% since 1993

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) disputes those figures, and they've hired themselves a statistician to explain away the increase.  What makes their quest a little awkward is that the data they've set out to discredit is the very same data that industry has been citing for years to prove how safe their rides are. The IAAPA loved that data for 20 years, until it showed a sharp increase in ride-related injuries on permanent rides. Now, suddenly, the data is deeply flawed. But only sometimes. Oddly enough, the press materials on the IAAPA's website liberally reference figures from the CPSC data.

Nobody knows how safe amusement rides are in this country. The best data we have comes from the CPSC, and industry believes that data to be fatally flawed.

A Better Question:  Who is at Risk for Ride-Related Injuries?

Amusement rides range widely in terms of size, speed, height, g-forces, intensity, and intended audience.  Riders range widely in terms of age, height, weight, mental ability, developmental maturity, and their ability to understand mechanical cause-and-effect.  The various combinations and permutations of those factors contribute to the excitement of thrill rides.  They also combine to create very real dangers for certain groups of people -- most notably small children.

The Good News

Data gathered from states with strong regulatory programs show that serious injuries are statistically rare in those states. For example, Pennsylvania licensed 3221 amusement rides and attractions in 1999, yet reported only 347 injuries requiring medical treatment.

Since parks and carnivals don't report injuries unless they are regulated, it's impossible to tell whether Florida's theme parks are as safe as those in Pennsylvania. In fact, that's one of the biggest danger in allowing parks to police their own accidents. The information doesn't get out to consumers, and that means consumers can't make informed decisions about which parks to visit and which rides are safe for their families.

Should you require assistance with an Amusement Park   Injury, please contact us for an immediate free evaluation of your situation. We have dealt with many of these cases and can be an invaluable resource for information and more importantly assistance.