Amusement Parks And Personal Injury Liability

The Orlando area is home to some of the most well known theme parks in Florida, most notably Disney World. Millions of tourists come through each year, and the majority of them make wonderful memories – but the small minority who are injured may be left with mounting stacks of medical bills. If you have been injured at Disney World or another Florida theme park, you need to know that they do have options in terms of trying to seek compensation.

Injury Numbers & Accident Causes Vary

On the whole, Florida theme parks are relatively safe, but accidents do happen. The parks have a deal with the state, wherein they submit accident and injury reports every quarter for any injury that requires at least a 24-hour hospital stay. Normally, only a handful of serious injuries are reported – on average, between 10 and 25 per quarter. However, the reports do not necessarily cover all the injuries that occur. It is not uncommon, for example, that an injured person would fail to seek medical treatment immediately after the accident; they may not find out the extent of their injuries until after the fact.

Injuries can happen in several different ways in a wide-open environment like a theme park. Most of them can be traced to the negligence of either the injured person, or of another actor – and there are a fair amount of accidental injuries that can be traced to the negligence of the park or of its employees. In order to successfully hold a theme park liable for your injuries, you must be able to show that they happened as a result of the park’s (or the park employee’s) actions, with no other intervening cause.

Filing Suit

Some people do not believe that theme parks can be held liable at all, but it is very possible to seek compensation from them if you can establish negligence on their part. Under a legal theory called premises liability, the owners and operators of a theme park have certain duties that they must observe in terms of ensuring their guests’ safety and well-being. Florida law recognizes three categories of visitors onto land – invitees, licensees, and trespassers – and a property owner owes a different duty of care to each category. If the duty of care is not met, the property owner can be held liable. Amusement park guests are generally considered invitees.

In addition, however, it is important to keep in mind that not every theme park accident case can be brought under a theory of premises liability or even general negligence. Other types of injuries can and do occur, such as food poisoning episodes, assaults, and product liability cases. Understanding which legal theory to cite in filing your case is not something the average layperson can figure out in most instances – which is another reason to enlist an experienced attorney to handle your case.

Contact An Orlando Theme Park Injury Lawyer

The strong majority of people who visit theme parks each year have wonderful experiences, but those who are unlucky enough to be involved in an accident deserve to be made whole after their injuries. The Orlando personal injury lawyers at the Hornsby Law Group are ready to put our personal injury knowledge to work for you. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Resource:

orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-bz-theme-park-injury-brief-20171017-story.html

https://www.hornsbylawgroup.com/finding-the-right-personal-injury-lawyer/