What Should I Do After a Water Park Injury in VA?

If you’re injured after going to a water park in Virginia, you’re probably wondering what to do next. The first thing you should do is seek treatment, make sure you’re safe, and have your injuries taken care of. After that, you should take the following steps:

File a Report

You should always file an incident report. This is to ensure that there is a record of your accident and any injuries you sustained. You want to make sure that everything is documented so that there is a paper trail of what happened and what steps you took after the injury.

Speak With a Lawyer

The next most important step is to speak with an attorney. They can help you with the next steps, including gathering evidence, speaking with witnesses, photographing injuries, obtaining medical records, and more. An experienced personal injury and water park accident attorney will be able to walk you through the process and ensure that everything is done correctly. 

Determine Who Is Responsible

One of the most important things you will need to determine is who is legally responsible for your injury. Is it the owner of the land that the water park is on? Is it the water park owner, if that’s someone different from the landowner? Is it the employee whose negligence caused your injury?  Or is the person or company who manufactured the actual ride responsible?  In some cases, it could be all of the above. Before you file a lawsuit for your water park injury in VA, it’s crucial to determine who should be held accountable. This is something your lawyer can help you with.

Consider Arbitration

Before you formally file a lawsuit, you may consider speaking with your attorney about arbitration instead. Arbitration is an alternative to filing a lawsuit. It’s a way to try to come to an agreement without having to go through formal court proceedings. Arbitration is quicker and less expensive than a formal lawsuit, so it can be beneficial for everyone. An experienced accident attorney is very familiar with all the necessary steps in this type of negotiation.

File a Lawsuit if Necessary

If arbitration isn’t an option or your attorney thinks it’s not the best option, they can help you file a formal lawsuit to ensure you get the justice and compensation you deserve.

Some of the most common types of injuries suffered at a water park include the following:

- Injuries to the back

- Fractured bones

- Broken bones

- Brain damage

- Internal bleeding or other internal injuries

- Neck injuries

- Paralysis

- Facial injuries

- Severed limbs  

- Damage to the spinal cord

- Traumatic brain injuries

Injuries suffered at a water park can be quite severe, so it’s really important to take all possible precautions. Unfortunately, even when you’re as careful as you’re supposed to be, sometimes injuries still occur. If you’ve suffered a water park injury in VA, We’re here to help you.

Generally, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is responsible for ensuring that all rides at a water park are safe. However, it’s interesting to note that they have no control over enforcing safety rules and regulations for rides that are permanently fixed to a site. Therefore, they only have the authority over temporary rides. While many water parks have some temporary rides, many of them likely have rides that are considered permanently fixed as well. The CPSC’s primary purpose originally was to oversee safety at traveling fairs and carnivals. This is incredibly dangerous, disappointing, and problematic because there’s basically no federal oversight for permanent rides. Some parks might have some state oversight in regards to safety, but the rules and regulations are inconsistent and likely not sufficient.

The responsible party for your water park injury depends on several things. For example, what caused the injury? Was it a defective part from a ride, or was it because of the negligence of the ride operator? Did you slip and fall because the water park negligently left something that didn’t belong on the ground? Most often, accidents at a water park are entirely preventable at least in some regard, but are often the fault of the water park owner, management, or park employees. Even if the owner or manager isn’t directly responsible, they can still be held vicariously liable.  

It’s the responsibility of the water park owners and managers to ensure that rides are regularly inspected and that there are no dangerous defects or issues that could result in an injury. Additionally, it’s the responsibility of the water park owner and management to ensure that all water park employees are trained adequately and know how to operate rides and just generally keep the water park safe. Water park employees must make sure that they are always paying attention so someone doesn’t get hurt as a result of their negligence. 

If you suffered a water park injury in VA because some of these employees failed to ensure that the water park was safe, or the workers were not trained to properly do their job, you might be able to file a lawsuit against any or all of them. Additionally, in some cases, you might be able to file a lawsuit against a third party, such as a repair company. If there is an issue with a ride and a repair company is hired to fix the issue, but they either don’t fix it, or they make it worse somehow and you get injured as a result, they could be held liable for your injury.

In Virginia, the statute of limitations to file a personal injury lawsuit is two years. The clock usually starts running on the date of your accident. However, if you are unaware of your injury until a later date, it’s possible that the deadline would be extended. The deadline might also be extended if you were a minor when you were injured.  If you attempted to file a lawsuit but were unable to because the person responsible for your injuries filed for bankruptcy or otherwise obstructed your ability to file a lawsuit, then the deadline for the lawsuit could be extended. The statute of limitations can be somewhat confusing, so if you aren’t sure of the timeline, it’s always a good idea to contact an attorney right away to make sure you don’t miss out on the compensation you should be entitled to because your filing time is incorrect.

Virginia personal injury cases are governed by pure contributory negligence. Pure contributory negligence means that if you are at all to blame for your injury, you cannot recover any compensation at all. For example, you are injured on a water slide, at least in part because you weren’t paying attention and went down the slide at the wrong time. Therefore, if you suffered a water park injury in VA, even if there was something seriously wrong with the slide that wasn’t at all your fault, you wouldn’t be able to recover any compensation.

If you or a loved one suffered an injury while at a water park in VA, Morgan & Morgan can help. Our experienced attorneys know exactly what to do after a water park injury. Our lawyers have recovered more than $25 billion dollars for our clients, and we will do everything in our power to make sure you receive everything you’re entitled to. We offer free consultations, so we can set up a time to discuss your case and what the next steps will be. Additionally, we take all of our cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning we don’t get paid until we successfully win or settle your case. Contact Morgan & Morgan today for a free case evaluation.