Accident in a Public Place*

Amusement Park Accident Claims*

An amusement park accident is any sort of incident that has taken place on the grounds of the amusement park. Usually, these accidents result in injury.

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Who is Liable?

Amusement parks can pose significant threats to the public if the appropriate safety procedures aren’t followed. Any person who has involvement in the organisation, maintenance or operation is obliged to follow a set of health and safety procedures. An injury that occurred on the grounds is categorised under a Public Liability Accident. If negligence from another party is confirmed you may be eligible to seek a legal remedy for your injuries. If you have suffered a personal injury from an amusement park accident contact us. Our team of legal practitioners are on hand to give assistance to any questions or queries about the claims process.

Safety Requirements and Duty of Care

Amusement parks have a legal obligation to provide a duty of care to all people who enter their premises. As visitor numbers can escalate within a short period of time. Therefore, it can be difficult to ensure all individuals remain safe and unexposed to risks. In an attempt to achieve this objective, all parks must abide by certain legislation. These legislations include:

  • Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
  • The Health and Safety at Work Act 2005
  • Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2016
  • Health and Safety Regulations 1996
  • Work at Height Regulations 2005

By enforcing these legislations it benefits both the organisation and the public’s best interest. In addition to this, all employees of the amusement park have a set of duties to ensure the best level of health and safety is being provided. Some examples of these duties consist of:

  • Designers, manufacturers and installers have a duty to be confident that the attractions are safe, installed adequately and thoroughly researched.
  • All attractions must be constantly maintained in a safe condition.
  • Inspections of all attractions should be regularly carried out to maintain safety standards.
  • Individuals with overall control of the premises must consider risk assessments implementation, safe layout and emergency procedures.

Common Injuries

With theme parks beginning to become an increasing trend in Ireland, it is important to be familiar with the risks associated with attending such an event. Injuries linked with public liability accident claims include:

Causes

The most common causes of theme park accidents are:

  • Defective or faulty attraction – for example, a fault on a roller coaster
  • Slip, trip or fall – these can happen from either poorly maintained or uneven grounds or attractions.
  • Food poisoning – this can occur due to poor kitchen hygiene standards
  • Falling objects – this could happen if a piece of a ride falls off or barriers fall down on people causing injury, for example.

Child Injury in a Theme Park

In cases where your child (aged under 18) has been injured in a theme park the rules for making an injury claim are different. A minor cannot make a claim themselves for any injuries sustained until they turn 18. However, once they turn 18 they have two years to make their claim. Therefore, before their 18th birthday, a parent or guardian can bring a claim forward on their behalf. It is advisable to speak with a solicitor about a child injury claim. In order to ensure that you take all the necessary steps. Once the claim a settlement may be reached. However, this settlement is held with the courts until the child turns 18.


What do I do if I'm involved in an amusement park accident?

Following an accident in an amusement park, there are a number of steps you should follow:

  1. Seek medical attention

    Your health is your wealth and should be your first priority. Immediately after an accident, take a second to assess yourself to determine if you have any injuries. Then check if anybody else involved in the accident needs medical attention. If anybody has sustained a serious injury, ensure that you contact an ambulance to attend the scene.

    You must remember that minor injuries where you ‘feel fine’ could progress to a more serious injury in the future. In this case, it is always better to be safe than sorry and advisable that you go to your nearest accident and emergency (A&E) or local GP to be checked out.

  2. Report the accident

    It is important that you report the accident to management. You may be required to assist to fill in an accident form. This is to provide them details of how the accident occurred and details of the injury. You should also request that they preserve any CCTV footage.

  3. Identify any witnesses

    Collect contact details of any witnesses to the accident – their names and contact information.

  4. Document the incident

    It is important that you collect all the relevant information in connection with your accident:

    • How the accident happened, time and date of the accident.
    • Details of any witnesses to the accident (Including staff and other customers); their names, contact information.
    • If there are any CCTV recordings of the accident.
    • Take pictures from different angles of where the accident happened and what caused you to slip, trip or fall.
    • Take pictures of any injuries you suffered, this will help your solicitor to understand how the accident happened.
  5. Speak to a personal injury solicitor

    If you are considering moving forward with a claim for any personal injuries sustained, it is advisable that you speak with a public place accident claims solicitor as soon as possible. If you are proceeding with a claim, the first step will be submitting your claim to the Injuries Board for assessment. A solicitor can help you prepare your application to the Injuries Board and ensure that you follow the process in the correct format, meaning that you can move forward with your claim quickly without unnecessary delays.

    It is important to remember to keep copies of any expenses that you have incurred as a result of the accident. It is also imperative to retain copies of medical reports or incident report forms where possible as you will need them when making a claim.

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How do I make a claim?

Once you have gathered most of the relevant information in relation to your injury it is then time to move forward with your claim. It is important to use a specialist public place accident solicitor to help you with this.

  1. Prepare information for a solicitor

    When you decide you want to move forward with your claim it is important to have as much as possible of the relevant information to hand when contacting a solicitor. Some of the important information to have on hand at this point is:

    • Date of the accident
    • Location of the accident
    • Details of who/what caused the accident
    • Specifics of what happened
    • Who did you report the accident to?
    • Is there CCTV that may have captured the accident?
    • Details of your injuries
    • Details of hospital or GP attended
    • Any pictures you may have taken of the scene of the accident and/or your injuries
  2. Solicitor becomes your trusted advisor

    As a solicitor is aware of the claims process they can avoid any legal bumps in the road you might encounter if you looked after this matter yourself. It is their job to be your trusted advisor on all legal matters throughout your case.

  3. Solicitor obtains a medical report

    One of the most important documents in your case is a medical report. Your solicitor will ask for your doctor’s or hospital details so he can obtain a report on your injuries. This report will then be used to allow us to progress your case.

  4. Solicitor prepares the Injuries Board application

    As soon as your solicitor has gathered all the information, your accident claim will be submitted to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board for assessment. Your solicitor will do this for you. Once the Injuries Board assess your claim your solicitor will revert with a suggested settlement amount. At this stage, you have a choice to accept the Injuries Board assessment or reject it and move to the next steps.

    At this point one of two scenarios will unfold:

    a. If both you and the other party accept the Injuries Board assessment, your case is settled and the person at fault will be ordered to pay settlement to you.

    b. If either you or the other party reject the Injuries Board assessment, then you move to the next stage and your solicitor will issue legal proceedings.

  5. Possible case outcomes

    Before you start to concern yourself with court and everything that comes with it, it’s important to understand that only a very small percentage of cases actually make it to a courtroom.

    Settlement meetings will be arranged where a settlement can be negotiated. Most cases are settled at this point prior to a court hearing date without you ever having to step foot into a courtroom and remember it’s your solicitor’s job to be with you every step of the way, right beside you to ensure that your best interests are met at all stages. Your solicitor is to be your trusted advisor throughout the process and this allows you to focus on your recovery, as they focus on settling your case.

At Tracey Solicitors LLP, we make law accessible to all – regardless of your knowledge or experience with the claims process. For more information and a confidential discussion on your accident, phone 01 649 9900 or email ask@traceysolicitors.ie to tell us about your case, where you can speak with a member of our team straight away.

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Case Settlement

If you are to proceed with an amusement park accident claim you may be entitled to recoup costs to you as a result of the accident. This is along with added expenses you may have incurred, these claims are called damages:

General Damages

General damages are non-financial damages such as pain and suffering and/or physical and emotional injuries following an accident.

Special Damages

Special damages are out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of an accident in an amusement park, for example, loss of earnings (if you are out of work), medical bills, and added travel costs as a result of the accident (for example, travel to and from the hospital). Learn more about Special Damages.

What are the Legal Time Limits?

The statute of limitations are the legal time limits on how long you have to make a claim — these vary depending on the situation. The general rule for most personal injury cases is that the person has two years from the date of the accident or date of knowledge of the accident to make a claim for compensation. Contacting a solicitor to discuss your case will help you in determining how long you have left to make a claim.

Learn more about Time Limits

About Tracey Solicitors LLP

We draw on more than 35 years of experience in personal injury law to provide you with expert advice and legal services.

We’re here to help you with your claim, and will work with you to ensure you understand every step of your legal journey.

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