Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

While the Consumer Protection Safety Commission estimates that the number of serious injuries on amusement park rides continue to increase dramatically, there are serious loopholes in the Consumer Product Safety Act of 1981 which prohibits the CPSC from regulating and enforcing the safety of all rides that are fixed to a specific site. Unfortunately, there is no official source which keeps a complete record of amusement park accidents. As an experienced amusement park accident attorney who has investigated and litigated some of the most horrific amusement park accidents that one can imagine, the one thing that I do understand is there is something fundamentally wrong with the checks and balances and safety protocol of the amusement park safety system as it currently exists in America.

Many times local and state regulators who currently oversee amusement parks lack effective budgets, resources, and technical expertise to carry out effective safety checks and investigate accidents. Our experiences reveal that when we conduct independent unbiased examinations and analysis of an amusement accident, the results are greatly at odds with the opinions of local regulators and authorities.

According to news sources, Lego Land in Florida reported six mishaps involving guests that occurred during its first two and a half months of operation but claim none of the instances appeared to have serious injuries. Believe it or not a Florida statute exempts Lego Land in Florida and many other major theme parks in Florida from regulation by the state bureau even though the attractions are required to submit quarterly incident reports. This exemption applies to theme parks of at least 1,000 employees and their own inspection staff. While many of the parks claim that safety is their number one concern and claim they have a duty to report any serious injuries or major incidents, the obvious question is begged as to what is a “serious incident".

I have always believed that one must stand for something or you will fall for anything. It is only when a horrific accident involving a catastrophic injury or wrongful death occurs at an amusement park that the victim or the family of the victim feels the true betrayal of an inefficient regulatory system.

Unfortunately, money, power, and greed of the amusement park industry often leads to unnecessary injuries and worse yet death.

As an experienced amusement park and carnival accident attorney, I believe that leaving the power of amusement park regulation to local and state agencies where the amusement park corporation is a major source of economic income to the community is analogous to the “fox guarding the hen house".

Amusement park safety is priority number one for the amusement park accident lawyers of Reiff and Bily. We believe that everyone deserves a safe amusement park governed by a uniform board of federal and national laws, and that cutting corners and not placing safety first is never an acceptable option.

I have been researching, investigating, and litigating amusement park accidents, water park accidents, and hayride accidents for over three decades. I have been attacked by many individuals stating that I am nothing but a greedy lawyer taking the fun out of life. Many individuals today who are riding on safer amusement rides or using safer products quickly point the finger at lawyers and without the fight of dedicated lawyers for consumer safety and protection many products manufacturers, or amusement park operators and amusement manufacturers would still be placing profitability ahead of safety concerns.

When I meet with parents of children who were catastrophically injured or died on an amusement ride or hayride and the owner/operator points the finger at an innocent child when in fact the amusement or attraction was improperly maintained, improperly inspected, or was operated by an individual with a questionable background who was improperly trained, I am astonished to see a public relations campaign attacking lawyers who only get paid if they are able to prove fault or negligence and win a case. I am astonished and surprised to read negative posts on blogs by people who don’t have a clue as to what really happened and who most probably would also seek legal representation and an independent investigation if they or their child was catastrophically injured or killed.

Our experienced amusement park and theme park accident attorneys always work only on a contingent fee basis and only charge a fee if we win the case. Many amusement parks claim that they regulate themselves and have proper motivation to insure safety and many state agencies that regulate amusement parks don’t have the budgets or technical expertise necessary to properly do their jobs. In fact, many theme parks and amusement park operators claim that state and local legislators lack budget resources and technical experience to carry out proper safety checks and investigate accidents and claim that they can do it better. I believe that if an amusement park or water park is operating safely and taking all steps to insure that amusement ride accidents do not occur, they should not be so afraid of a lawyer double checking the system. After all, a contingent fee amusement park and theme park accident lawyer will not take the case or get paid if, in fact, it can be determined that the owners and operators did nothing wrong. For those who complain that lawyers are taking the fun out of life and always blame the victims. Think about how you would feel if you were catastrophically injured or your child was killed at a theme park or amusement park that was said to be safe and carefully hid defects and problems from the public.

Checks and balances are a good thing.