California Amusement Park & Roller Coaster Accident Lawsuits

When you are injured in an amusement park accident in California, you and your family can file a personal injury claim. Damages in an amusement park personal injury lawsuit can include:

• Medical bills,
• Lost wages, and
• Pain and suffering.

If your child or other family member is killed in a roller coaster accident, you can file a wrongful death lawsuit for damages, including funeral expenses and loss of supporting income.

Amusement park accidents can include slip and fall injuries, stair accidents, drowning accidents, food poisoning, or being thrown from a roller coaster. The amusement park, park employees, or other visitors may be liable to you for damages.

Below, our California personal injury lawyers discuss the following frequently asked questions about amusement park accidents and roller coaster injury lawsuits:

• 1. Legal grounds
• 2. Defendants
• 3. Damages
• 4. Assumption of the risk
• 5. Partial fault
• 6. Statute of limitations
• 7. Verdicts and settlements
• Additional reading

If you have further questions about roller coaster accidents after reading this article, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group.

1. Legal grounds

When you are injured at an amusement park in California, the park itself may be liable for the injuries and damages. You can file a personal injury lawsuit against those responsible to get money damages for your injuries.

Park owners have a duty to provide a safe environment for customers. Roller coaster designers also have a duty to make sure their rides are not defective or dangerous. When park owner and designers violate these duties, they may be liable for damages.

Amusement park accident lawsuits may be based on the following causes of action:

• Negligence,
• Premises Liability,
• Vicarious Liability,
• Product Defect Liability, or
• Intentional Torts.

Individuals or companies who violate their duty of care which causes an injury may be liable for negligence. In order to win damages in a negligence lawsuit, you need to prove the following:

1. The defendant owed you a duty of care;
2. The defendant breached that duty of care through negligence;
3. The breach was a cause of your injuries; and
4. You suffered damages as a result of the defendant’s negligence.

In 2022 alone, there were 39,896 injuries at amusement parks throughout the U.S.,¹ many of which led to lawsuits. Typical evidence in these cases includes surveillance video, eyewitness accounts, accident reconstruction expert testimony, and your medical records.

2. Defendants

Anyone liable for a California amusement park or roller coaster accident may be responsible to you for damages. In an amusement park accident, there may be multiple parties who are responsible damages.

Possible defendants in an amusement park accident lawsuit may include:

• Amusement park owner or operator,
• Amusement park parent company,
• Amusement park employees,
• Food or drink vendors,
• Security guards,
• Park supervisors or managers,
• Safety inspectors,
• The park’s insurance company,
• Another customer or patron of the amusement park,
• Shuttle drivers,
• Third parties who contract with the park for goods and services,
• Ride operators,
• Roller coaster engineers, or
• Roller coaster equipment and parts manufacturers.

An amusement park employee caused the accident.

When an amusement park employee causes an accident, the employee may be liable for damages. However, under California’s “respondeat Superior” laws, the employer may also be liable for the staff’s negligence.²

This means that if an employee does something that causes an accident, the employer is also held responsible. In an amusement park accident lawsuit, the amusement park can be liable for the employee’s negligence if you can show the following:

1. You were harmed as a result of the employee’s negligence; and
2. The company is responsible for the injuries because the employee was acting within the scope of their employment when the accident occurred.³

The park or other employer may also be held directly liable if the park failed to properly train or supervise the employee. You could file a lawsuit against the employer based on negligent hiring, negligent training, or negligent supervision.⁴

Dangerous conditions at the park caused the accident.

Under California’s premises liability laws, amusement park owners and operators owe the public a duty of care to:

• Maintain their property in a safe condition;
• Repair dangerous conditions;
• Follow state and local safety regulations; and
• Warn visitors about known hazards.

If you are injured by dangerous conditions within the park, the property owner may be liable for damages. In a personal injury lawsuit, you need to show:

1. The defendant owned, occupied, or controlled the property;
2. The defendant was negligent in the use or maintenance of the property;
3. You were harmed;
4. The defendant’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing your harm.⁵

Safety conditions that may cause an injury in an amusement park include:

• Broken concrete and sidewalks,
• Slippery and wet surfaces,
• Uneven surfaces,
• Torn carpeting,
• Bad lighting,
• Broken handrails,
• Blocked walkways,
• Broken ride restraints,
• Broken benches,
• Lack of instructions for riders,
• Food spills in dining areas,
• Lack of protective gear,
• Inadequate protocols to get medical care, and
• Lack of warnings.

Another park customer intentionally caused the accident.

Crowded environments, like amusement parks, can cause people to lose their tempers. When an argument or fight breaks out at an amusement park, another park customer may assault an innocent victim.

Assault and battery are crimes, but they can also be the basis for a civil lawsuit for damages in California. Recklessness of another customer may also be the cause of an amusement park accident, even if the customer did not intend to harm someone.

The park may also be liable for injuries caused by another person, even by a customer. If the park was not enforcing safety policies, for example, by not kicking out a drunk or violent patron, the park may have failed in their duty to keep the park safe for others.

The roller coaster was defective and caused the accident.

If you are injured because of a defective roller coaster, you may not know who was to blame. However, product liability claims have “strict liability” for manufacturers, designers, or sellers. You do not have to show that the seller or manufacturer was negligent, only that the roller coaster was defective.

Defective roller coaster product liability claims can be based on:

• Manufacturing defects,
• Design defects, or
• Warning defects (lack of warning or inadequate warnings).

Defendants in product liability claims can include the roller coaster designer, parts manufacturer, or roller coaster product distributor. In a roller coaster product liability claim in California, you have to show the following:

1. The defendant manufactured, distributed, or sold the defective product;
2. The product contained a manufacturing, design, or warning defect when it left the defendant’s possession;
3. You suffered harm; and
4. The product defect was a substantial factor in causing your harm.⁶⁷

Example: Zach is riding the Flimsy Flyer roller coaster. At the top of a loop, Zach’s restraint falls open, and he falls out of the amusement park ride. Since the restraint had a design defect, the manufacturer may be strictly liable for Zach’s injuries.

The government caused the accident.

Before amusement parks can open for business, they must be inspected by the government – typically a city planning commission and/or the fire department. If they did a subpar inspection – and their oversights and mistakes lead to your injury – you can sue the government.

3. Damages

Compensatory damages provide for the financial costs of an injury, as well as the non-economic costs of the accident. Damages in a California amusement park accident may include:

• Medical bills,
• ER treatment,
• Surgery,
• Physical therapy,
• Emotional harm,
• Lost wages,
• Lost earnings,
• Loss of consortium,
• Compensation for scars or disfigurement, and
• Pain and suffering.

In some situations, punitive damages, or exemplary damages, may also be available. Punitive damages are intended to punish the wrongdoer and prevent the defendants from doing something similar in the future.⁸

When your family member dies in a roller coaster accident, you may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit because the victim is not able to hold the defendant responsible.⁹ You can file a claim for damages, including:

• Funeral and burial expenses,
• Financial losses, and
• Compensation for the loss of companionship and support.

4. Assumption of the risk

“Assumption of the risk” is a California legal doctrine that shifts liability for an accident to you for engaging in an inherently risky activity. The amusement park may claim a roller coaster is an “inherently risky activity,” and try and avoid responsibility for the accident.¹⁰

However, even if a roller coaster does have some level of risk, the defendants may still be liable for the accident. For example, the defendant may be liable because the defendant:

• Violated state safety laws or regulations;
• Increased the risk to you over and above the inherent risks, or
• Failed to properly warn you about the risks.

Some parks and rides require you to sign a waiver (called “expressed assumption of the risk”) where you agree not to sue if you sustain any injuries from the venue’s negligence. However, you still may have grounds to sue if the defendant’s lack of “due diligence” rose to the level of gross negligence or recklessness.

5. Partial fault

Even if you were partly responsible for the accident, you may still be eligible to receive compensation. Under California’s comparative fault laws, the jury can determine if multiple people were at fault for the accident. The jury can also divide up fault among the parties involved, including a percentage of fault attributed to you.¹¹

Example: Hans is riding the Pirates of the Barbary Coast ride at Mortimer Land. Hans intentionally did not secure his safety restraint, and the ride employees did not check if his restraint was secured. When Hans stepped off the boat, he slipped and hit his head. He sued for $10,000 in damages. A jury finds that Hans was 20% responsible and the park was 80% responsible. Therefore, Hans may be awarded $8,000 in damages from the park.

6. Statute of limitations

In California, you typically have two years after an amusement park/roller coaster accident to bring a personal injury lawsuit. If you are suing the government, the deadline is only six months.

Once the deadline passes, you are barred from recovering damages. Though the statute of limitations can be tolled (paused) in some situations, such as if the victim is a minor.¹²

In any case, be sure to consult with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after the accident so they have ample time to craft a winning case.

7. Verdicts and settlements

• A U.S. Army veteran who lost his legs in Iraq was killed when he was ejected from a roller coaster at Darien Lake, New York, in 2011. The family settled their claim for an undisclosed 7-figure amount.
• In 2016, a 10-year-old boy was decapitated on a hybrid roller coaster/water slide at the Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kansas. The boy’s family received a settlement offer of almost $20 million dollars.
• The lack of head and neck support on the Cyclone roller coaster in Coney Island caused an Arizona woman to suffer permanent injuries. The victim was paid $600,000 for her injuries after a jury verdict.
• A park guest at Walt Disney World in Florida suffered back injuries when he was rear-ended at the Grand Prix Raceway ride in 1995. A jury awarded the victim more than $840,000 for his injuries.
• A roller coaster rider suffered permanent injuries when he was thrown from a roller coaster at Darien Lake, New York. The plaintiff eventually settled the case for $2.85 million.
• A 52-year-old woman was killed when she fell from the Texas Giant roller coaster in Arlington, Texas in 2013. The family settled a lawsuit with Six Flag Entertainment, other Six Flags entities, and Gerstlauer Amusement Rides, a German roller coaster company.

Amusement park injuries range from minor to extremely serious injuries, including spinal cord damage and traumatic brain injuries.

Additional reading

For more in-depth information, refer to the following scholarly articles:

• Amusement park injuries and deaths – Annals of Emergency Medicine.
• Criminal Liability for Amusement Park Death and Injuries – North East Journal of Legal Studies.
• Rider Beware: Relying on the Courts and a Nationalized Rating System to Address the Duty of Care Owed to Amusement Park Attractions Guests – Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law.
• Ride at Your Own Risk: Amusement Parks and Liability – LawNow.
• Global incidence of theme park and amusement ride accidents – Safety Science.

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