Amusement Park Ride Accidents Raise Doubts on Carnival Safety

Two amusement park ride accidents within two days have left four children seriously injured. The closeness of the two crashes leave some doubting carnival safety, and others calling for tighter regulation of amusement park companies.

On Sunday, August 10, 2016, a 10-year-old boy was killed on the "Verruckt" water slide at Kansas City’s Schlitterbahn Waterpark. The very next day, 3 girls were seriously injured when a Ferris wheel gondola (the baskets where people sit) tipped and threw 2 of them 30-45 feet to the ground, where the third was standing. 6-year-old Briley Reynolds suffered a traumatic brain injury. Her sister Kayla Renolds broke her arm.

Are Amusement Park Ride Regulations to Blame?

As investigators rushed to the scenes to identify the causes of the accidents, the similarities raised serious concerns. A 2013 study by the Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that between May and September an average of 20 children a day are treated in U.S. emergency rooms for amusement-ride related injuries. Gary Smith, Director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy, and author of the study, told the USA Today:

“Anyone would be concerned by, summer after summer, some of the catastrophic injuries that are occurring,” he said. “Given the volume of users, we need a better coordinated effort.”

The problem, according to the report, may come from deficiencies in regulations. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) oversees traveling carnival safety, but they do not conduct inspections. In the 1980s, the commission was stripped of its authority over fixed-site parks. Instead, the commission provides voluntary standards that state and local agencies can use as guidelines.

In the Tennessee accident, for example, when inspectors responded to the scene, one had been hired by the ride’s operating company. The other was from the Green County Fair Board. No federal agencies were involved in the investigation.

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) is a private commission operated by the industry. It conducts its own survey of amusement ride-related injuries at fixed-site parks like Schlitterbahn Waterpark. Not surprisingly, the IAAPA does not believe any further federal regulation is needed.

But with thousands of children being injured every year, some fatally, there is clearly a need for change. The Tennessee Ferris Wheel was reopened before investigators even knew the circumstances of the accident. The operating company there may also be linked to another incident as recently as 2013, suggesting that at least some carnival operators don’t take safety as seriously as they should.

Tighter regulation could give the families of children injured by faulty amusement park rides somewhere to turn for help. Like other consumer protection laws, these regulations could hold operators responsible and give injured riders relief when the worst happens.

Dani K. Liblang is a personal injury attorney at The Liblang Law Office, PC, in Birmingham, Michigan. If you have been seriously injured because of someone else’s carelessness, contact The Liblang Law Office, PC, today for a free consultation.