Can You Sue Amusement Parks in Virginia for Injuries?

Although they see millions of annual visitors, fixed-site amusement parks have a relatively good safety record. In 2021, parks in North America reported around 2,000 injuries. This might seem like a lot, but it translates to only one injury for every 1 million rides taken by patrons. Amusement parks in Virginia had a similar safety record.

When it comes to safety, however, getting it right most of the time is not good enough. When an amusement park patron suffers an injury, they have the right to pursue injury compensation against the park or the ride manufacturer.

Duty of Care

An amusement park is liable for injuries when it breaches its duty of care to protect visitor safety. This legal duty includes taking reasonable measures to do the following:

• Find hazardous conditions
• Post warning signs
• Block entry of guests into dangerous areas
• Clean spills
• Fix damage

Ride manufacturers are strictly liable for injuries caused by defective rides. An amusement park operator involved in the ride’s design, manufacture, or warning signs may also bear strict liability for ride accidents.

Types of Amusement Park Injuries

Amusement parks usually operate parking lots which employ parking trams and buses. They also host guests on their properties and — most importantly — operate rides. Patrons can suffer injuries in all of a park’s guest areas. Common theme park injuries include:

Broken Bones

Powerful impacts can break bones. These accidents can happen when you are struck by a ride vehicle.

Amputation Injuries

Amputations can happen in two ways. First, the accident can sever the body part. This might occur when a ride gate closes on your finger or if the ride passes too close to an obstruction while in use.

Second, the accident can cause such severe damage that doctors must surgically amputate the body part. This might happen when a guest’s arm gets mauled after being caught in an unguarded motor.

Virginia Laws Governing Liability for Amusement Park Injuries

State laws typically govern fixed-site amusement parks and traveling amusement parks in Virginia.

The primary laws governing liability include premises liability and product liability. Premises liability requires theme park operators to pay compensation for injuries that result from the operator’s negligence. Product liability imposes liability on manufacturers for injuries resulting from defective rides and safety equipment.

Virginia has many safety regulations for ride manufacturers and operators. Violations of these safety regulations may be indicative of negligence.

Seeking Compensation

Almost every personal injury case begins with an insurance claim. Businesses like amusement parks may carry insurance to cover liabilities from customer injuries or they may be self-insured.

Your insurance claim describes your accident and injuries and includes supporting documents like incident reports, medical records, and witness statements. To be successful, claims against amusement park owners must prove that they violated the duty of care, while claims against ride manufacturers must prove that the ride was defective and that the defect caused the alleged injury.

If the insurer accepts the claim, it will negotiate a settlement with your amusement park injuries lawyer. If it denies your claim, your attorney will need to present additional evidence or legal arguments to overcome the denial. You may need to file a lawsuit if your attempt to overcome the denial is unsuccessful.

The Importance of Legal Representation

A personal injury lawyer understands Virginia injury law and has experience dealing with insurers. A lawyer can assess the value of your claim and the strength of your legal arguments.

When you file, your attorney knows the kinds of evidence that will prove your case and how to gather it. They also know the legal arguments that can persuade an insurer or jury to compensate you.

A lawyer is also helpful because they can counter the defenses the insurer might raise. In an amusement park lawsuit, the operator can attempt to shift liability to you by showing that you violated the park’s policies or ignored safety signs. Your lawyer can respond by trying to shift liability back to the operator.

Frequently Asked Questions by People Injured at an Amusement Park

Here are some answers to questions people often ask about amusement park injuries:

Can I Sue Busch Gardens for an injury?

Yes. Like all businesses, Busch Gardens is liable for injuries caused by its negligence. For a lawsuit, your lawyer must have evidence that Bush Gardens failed to exercise reasonable care in protecting guest safety.

What Happens if I Violated the Park’s Rules Before I Was Injured?

Virginia allows park operators to use contributory negligence as a defense. This bars compensation if you were responsible for your injuries in any way. To win your claim, your lawyer must show the violation did not contribute to the accident.

What Kinds of Accidents Can I Sue an Amusement Park for?

You can sue for any accident resulting from the operator’s negligence, including ride accidents, slip and fall accidents, falling objects, and parking lot injuries.

Get Help From an Amusement Park Injuries Attorney Today

Amusement parks in Virginia are often run by billion-dollar corporations that will throw up every roadblock against your accident claim. Commonwealth Law has been standing up to companies and their insurers for over 10 years. Contact us for a free consultation to learn how we can help with your amusement park injury.