On Saturday, Nov. 4, a Tallahassee girl suffered injuries after being thrown from the ‘Musik Express,’ a North Florida Fair ride. Similar accidents in other states have led to personal injury lawsuits, which might also happen in this case. The general manager of the mobile fair company said the ride was shut down after the incident but reopened the next morning after an inspection, the results of which were not mentioned. The inspection was done by the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Records indicate that this company has received citations for five previous accidents since 2000. However, the Musik Express ride has received 12 citations since 2015, of which three were issued to this operator. The latest one was only two days before this incident, and it was for defective latches and worn bushings. In fact, six of the 12 citation reports indicate that there were problems with restraints.
A recent study of amusement ride injuries by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital shows that 93,000 children younger than 18 years old were treated at emergency departments of hospitals for injuries suffered on amusement park rides from 1990 through 2010. The research manager says there is no national standard for inspections of the rides, and each state decides who is responsible. Mobile rides are particularly difficult to control because they travel across state lines with different safety standards in every state.
Parents cannot do much more than checking the restraints when they let their children enjoy the different rides and hope for the best. In the event of an injury, they could pursue financial relief by filing a personal injury lawsuit in a Florida civil court. The services of an experienced personal injury attorney are available to help with establishing negligence on which such suits are based. A lawyer can then present the claim to the court for recovery of documented losses.
Source: wctv.tv, “Fair manager calls accident that injured teen “one in a million”“, Nov. 7, 2017