Amusement Parks Promote Fun, However When Preventable Personal Injuries Occur-Our Virginia/Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers Help Families

Virginia (VA) Personal Injury Lawyers
Offices in VA Beach, Hampton & Elizabeth City, NC  

Amusement/theme parks and water parks are a great source of fun, but like any business, operators must follow industry safety standards, and the law in many states, such as Virginia, holds amusement park owners to a high standard of care as far as personal injuries or deaths to patrons and children. In other words, because amusement parks invite all members of the public to ride roller coasters, water slides, and other amusement rides, most states placed a higher burden of safety on amusement park owners and water park/water slide operators. This type of high standard of care also applies to common carriers who also invite the public to ride their equipment.

On June 29th, 2008, a 17 year old boy climbed two six foot fences and strolled into a restricted area at a Six Flags in Georgia where he was decapitated ( his head was cut off ) by a roller coaster called Batman. The State Supervisory Body has now told the amusement park that as a result of the incident it must increase the size and number of warning signs near other popular roller coasters. In May, a girl’s feet were cut off during another ride, called Superman, again at a Six Flags. The family filed a negligence suit against the park. While these cases vary widely in the level of amusement park responsibility/liability, when a serious injury or death occurs to a family member, parents want answers and help, and many times contact our personal injury lawyers to determine if a law suit or claim has merit against an amusement park. See an article by my law partner, John C., published on our injuryboard law blog. For a catalogue of injuries and deaths at Disney theme/amusement parks, see this Wikipedia article.

Horror stories like these often bring up the question: What is being done to prevent these tragedies? The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) figures show that around 6,000 - 7,000 people are treated in emergency rooms by amusement park related incidents every year. The CPSC was created to shield the public from "unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products", yet its power in this industry is limited. Amusement parks with a fixed site such as our local Kings Dominion (Hanover County, Virginia (VA) ), and Busch Gardens (Williamsburg, Virginia (VA) ) are granted an exemption from the CPSC, which leaves only parks that move ( like the circus), under the jurisdiction of the CPSC. This results in the injury toll being unreported.

The problem with federal agencies like the CPSC, under the Bush Administration between 2000-2008, is that it was too cozy with the industries they regulated, so enforcement was limited in past years. Parents and families trying to recover substantial medical bills and medical expenses due to a teenager or a child's injury at an amusement park contact us and often retain our personal injury lawyer services. We provide free initial consultation and we are only paid if we recover compensation for personal injuries or wrongful death at an amusement park or water park.

Set out below is a partial list of amusement Parks and water parks/water slides in several of the states surrounding our law office:

Virginia (VA)

Amusement and Theme Parks

Busch Gardens, Williamsburg
Kings Dominion
Virginia Beach Motor World

Waterparks

Ocean Breeze Waterpark
Splash Down Waterpark
Water Country USA
Waterworks Waterpark

Great Wolf Lodge Resort

North Carolina

Amusement and Theme Parks

Carowinds
Cherokee Fun Park
Ghost Town In The Sky
Gold City Amusement Park
Santa's Land
Tweetsie Railroad

Waterparks

Jungle Rapids Family Fun Park
Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe

West Virginia

Amusement and Theme Parks

Camden Park
Valley Worlds of Fun

Waterparks

Waves of Fun

South Carolina

Amusement and Theme Parks

Carowinds
Family Kingdom
Hard Rock Park (opening 2008)
Myrtle Beach Grand Prix
Pedroland (South of the Border)

Waterparks

Myrtle Waves Waterpark
Splash Island
Splash Zone
Whirlin' Waters
Wild Water Fun Park

In order to prove negligence in an amusement park/water park accident, it is crucial to have attorneys/lawyers that have both knowledge of the field and real trial experience. The Law Firm of Shapiro, Lewis and Appleton routinely confer with some of the foremost medical experts in the country on behalf of their clients, and have a long and distinguished history of taking cases to trial with successful results. If you or a loved one has been the victim an amusement or theme park accident injury or death, please contact our offices for a free consultation today.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), near the NE North Carolina (NC) border and handles car,truck,railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

How can you identify a top Virginia injury lawyer for your case? Look no further.

Our VA personal injury lawyers have been selected for many accolades.

Two of the attorneys with our Virginia Beach accident injury law firm, James Lewis and Rick Shapiro, have been named the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. Two of our VA injury lawyers -- Lewis and Shapiro - have been named to Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury since 2010. In addition, Lewis and Shapiro have been selected for inclusion in the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. 

Our VA accident injury law firm was the first in the commonwealth nvited to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms. Rick Shapiro was named as one of the Top 100 Injury Lawyers in Virginia by the National Trial Lawyers Association.

In October, 2000 our law firm and co-counsel obtained what was then the largest verdict in Virginia's history for an injured person. Our brain damaged client received an initial award of $46 million that rose to $60 million with interest when the defendant abandoned an appeal and agreed to settle. 

Geographical Areas

Our personal injury lawyers handle personal injury cases throughout the eastern USA, and work closely with lawyers in other states on signficant injury cases.

In Virginia, this includes Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Richmond, Petersburg, Roanoke, Salem, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, Ashland, Big Stone Gap, and every community on the Eastern Shore, including Accomack, Onancock, Chincoteauge, Wachapreague, and Cape Charles, Bloxom, Eastville, Exmore, Greenbackville, Machipongo, Mappsville, Melfa, Nassawadox, Onley, Tangier, Temperanceville, Wachapreague and Wallops Island.

In West Virginia, we can handle personal injury claims in Bluefield, Beckley, Bridgeport, Charles Town, Charleston, Fairmont, Huntington, Lewisburg, Madison, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Moundsville, Parkersburg, Ripley, Sutton, Weirton, Wheeling and any other town or county.

Injury Lawyers licensed in VA, WV, North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC.

 

Virginia Beach, VA Personal Injury Attorneys
Virginia (VA) Personal Injury Lawyers
Specializing in Virginia Wrongful Death & Injury Law