There aren’t many worse places at which you could be injured than a theme park. In all likelihood, you are far away from the entrance of the park, and you could even be a ferry or monorail ride away from your car. What’s worse, you could potentially be stuck in a crowded space with people gawking at you in your injured state. And, to add insult to injury, the theme park employees and representatives could act coldly towards you and deny any culpability in the accident for legal purposes.

All you want is to be treated fairly and that the theme park does right by you in giving you compensation for your pain and suffering. But, how can you obtain this compensation? Is it possible to receive a settlement from the likes of Disney, Universal, Sea World, or Busch Gardens?

Theme Park Accident Injuries

The vast majority of personal injury suits filed against these big theme parks are slip and fall cases. In a four year period, there were 477 federal lawsuits filed against Disney, Universal, and Busch Gardens and about half were slip and fall-related. But, there are still a significant amount of injuries on the rides themselves – about 100 of these 477 lawsuits involved injuries on malfunctioning rides. In both of these situations, the plaintiff must show that the theme park’s carelessness or negligence led to the injuries.

For example, a theme park ride operator could be careless in the way they stop and start the ride, causing someone to fall and break a wrist or sprain an ankle. Or, an employee could fail to clean up a slick surface that they knew beforehand was a hazard only for someone to trip and hurt themselves. In cases like these, it is all about proving that a theme park had responsibility for an accident because they knew about the dangers beforehand and did nothing to prevent or remedy them.

Florida Personal Injury Laws

The compensation you could receive depends on a few different factors. First, if a theme park representative offers you money quickly after the accident and you accept, then your case is legally closed, and you cannot take further action. Rarely do theme parks act this quickly, but they would definitely rather settle than bring the case to court. The settlement amount depends on several things:

• The severity of your injuries
• How much time you have had to miss work because of your injuries
• How solid your evidence against the theme park is
• Previous statements you have made to the theme park about your injury without an attorney

If your case ends up going to court, the court could rule that you also had a role to play in the accident. They might decide that you should have been aware of a slick surface near a water ride or pool so that you are 40% responsible for your injuries. This is because Florida is a “Pure Comparative Negligence” state, which means that all suits seeking damages for actions will be awarded according to the percentage of fault of the guilty parties.

To handle the complexity of theme park injury cases, you need a legal team with a proven track record like The Troutman Law Firm. As an Orlando-based firm, we understand the precedents established in theme park accident injury cases and are willing to fight for the compensation you deserve. Call us today for a free consultation at 407-647-5002.