Water Slide Injuries

Visiting a water park should be a safe and enjoyable way to spend a day with your family. However, what happens when your fun-filled time at the amusement park leads to a trip to the hospital?

If you or a loved one suffered severe water slide injuries, you could be entitled to damages, such as medical expenses, pain and suffering, wage loss, out-of-pocket costs, and more. However, the responsible party may be a powerful corporation that employs teams of lawyers to fight injury claims like yours. Therefore, when you suffer injuries at an amusement park, you’ll want an experienced injury lawyer in your corner who protects your rights and fights for full and fair compensation.

Morgan & Morgan fight for the people, not the powerful. We have helped thousands of injured clients recover what they needed to regain their lives and move forward. If you were hurt due to another’s fault, our tenacious attorneys are ready to fight tooth and nail for you. Get started today and contact us for a free, no-obligation case review to discover your next steps.

Water Slide Injuries: What You Need to Know

Water park visits can make for a great day out for families and friends. However, a long-anticipated visit quickly turns into a nightmare when negligence or inadequate safety measures cause a tragic accident and injuries.

Causes of Water Slide Injuries

Pools and water slides offer a refreshing and exhilarating escape from the summer heat. However, visitors to amusement parks must be aware of the potential risks involved with using water slides. Understanding the causes of amusement park injuries could help you prevent accidents and stay safe at your next water park visit. Here are some of the leading causes of water slide accidents and injuries:

• Poor slide design with sharp turns, sudden drops, or excessive speeds
• Lack of maintenance and failure to identify and address potential hazards, such as damaged or worn-out parts.
• Inadequate water slide staff training
• Other visitors riding the water slide recklessly or engaging in horseplay
• Lack of supervision and failure to enforce safety rules
• Water slide overcrowding
• Wet and slippery surfaces near pools and water slides
• Improperly-treated pool water harboring dangerous bacteria

While there can be many more causes of water slide injuries, it’s important to note that you could qualify for damages if another, such as the water park operator, is responsible for your injuries and financial losses. An injury attorney at Morgan & Morgan can identify your legal options and move forward with a compensation claim if you or a loved one suffered a water slide injury.

Responsibility for Water Slide Injuries and Accidents

Water park injuries can be a result of various factors. Therefore, identifying the responsible party or parties can be challenging. Here are some potential entities that could be responsible for your amusement park injuries:

Amusement Park Operators

Water park operators are legally obliged to provide a reasonably safe environment for visitors, which includes observing strict safety standards and regulations. They must correctly maintain, operate, and inspect all rides, attractions, and facilities. If a water park owner or operator acted negligently, such as failing to check water slides and fix hazards, they could be liable for your injuries.

Manufacturers of Water Slides

Water slide makers and part manufacturers must design and produce safe amusement park equipment and adhere to industry standards. They should conduct thorough safety testing, and provide adequate maintenance guidelines to operators, to prevent water slide injuries and accidents. If a defect in design or manufacturing causes an injury, the ride manufacturer could be liable for injured victims’ damages.

Third-Party Contractors

Water park operators sometimes outsource their maintenance and inspection requirements to specialized companies. These third-party contractors can play a vital role in maintaining the water slides, ensuring the amusement park rides comply with safety standards. If a third-party contractor negligently maintained, inspected, or repaired a ride, and an individual suffered water slide injuries, they may be partially liable for the accident.

Amusement Park Employees

Water park employees are also responsible for the safety and well-being of visitors. A water park operator or owner must provide staff with proper training regarding ride operations, emergency protocols, and guest supervision. Amusement park injuries and accidents can occur when an employee fails to pay attention or neglects to enforce safety rules.

Other Water Park Guests

While water slide operators are generally responsible for maintaining a safe environment, the conduct of other visitors can also cause severe accidents. When other water slide riders behave recklessly or fail to follow safety instructions, others may suffer injuries and accidents.

Seeking Justice and Compensation

Determining liability in water park injuries may require the expertise of industry experts who can investigate the accident thoroughly and determine who and what caused the victim’s water slide injuries. Experts may analyze water park operators’ maintenance records, inspect the accident scene, and review surveillance footage. Morgan & Morgan’s experienced personal injury lawyers can hire professional investigators to understand your amusement park injury case and pursue all potential avenues for compensation.

Common Amusement Park Injuries

According to a study published by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), water park accidents typically lead to head and facial injuries in children. Adults, on the other hand, tend to suffer injuries to the extremities and the spinal cord. Water slide injuries can vary in severity from minor bruises to catastrophic and life-changing injuries. Common types of injuries include:

Fractures and head injuries: Wet surfaces near pools and water slides can create slick conditions, leading to slips, trips, and falls that may result in sprains, fractures, or head injuries.

Neck and back injuries: If individuals in a water slide’s inner tube flip over or hit the bottom of the pool when they exit the slide, they could suffer from neck sprains and significant back injuries.

Drowning or near-drowning: Inadequate supervision, horseplay, or equipment failure can lead to drowning or near-drowning incidents, which, in the worst cases, can cause oxygen deprivation, brain damage, and death.

Infections from waterborne illnesses: Improperly treated water in amusement parks can expose visitors to harmful bacteria, potentially resulting in infections, gastrointestinal issues, and other diseases.

Avoiding Water Slide Injuries

If you want to avoid amusement park injuries, you can take some simple steps, such as:

• Following posted rules
• Choosing age-appropriate water slides
• Maintaining a proper body position when on the slide
• Avoiding careless or reckless behaviors
• Keeping a safe distance from others
• Following height, weight, and health restrictions
• Using provided mats or tubes for stability
• Following the lifeguards’ instructions

Constant vigilance is essential if you are taking children to a water park. Keep a close eye at all times, particularly if children are playing in the pool and using water slides. Ensure they follow the rules and guidelines and don’t use slides inappropriate for their age, weight, and swimming capabilities.

Make sure to accompany young children to the slide and stay attentive. You play a vital role in helping prevent accidents and water slide injuries by supervising children. However, an operator or owner may be responsible if you or your child are hurt at a waterpark. Contact Morgan & Morgan, and tell us what happened, as you could qualify for damages.