The Limits of Liability Waivers

The fun of amusement park rides is that they create the feeling of danger, but they have been proven safe. At least, that is how they are supposed to work. Amusement parks are places of business, so they are subject to premises liability laws. This means that, if a customer gets injured on an amusement park ride or elsewhere in a part of an amusement park that is open to customers, the customer has the right to sue the park for compensation, including medical expenses and other accident-related financial losses. For a defendant to prevail in such a premises liability lawsuit, they must show evidence that the plaintiff behaved dangerously, instead of just using the ride in its intended manner. The law is clear, but despite this, many amusement parks and similar places of recreation ask customers to sign liability waivers in which they absolve the businesses of legal liability if the customers get injured. If you got injured on a ride at a water theme park in New Jersey, contact a South Jersey premises liability lawyer.

New Jersey Man Sues After Suffering Catastrophic Injuries on Amusement Park Surfboard Ride

In 2010, Roy Steinberg visited Sahara Sam’s Oasis Water Park in West Berlin, New Jersey with his two children. He suffered serious injuries when he rode a surfing simulator ride called the FlowRider. The ride consists of a surfboard-like device attached to the concrete floor by several pieces of metal that enable it to move. Several inches of water separate the board from the floor. Riders can lie on their bellies on the board, or else stand on the board and hold onto a rope to attempt to keep their balance. A staff member stands beside the ride and holds one end of the rope, and the guest can hold the other end.

Steinberg had never ridden the FlowRider ride before, but he attempted to ride standing up. As soon as the board started moving, he fell off the board and landed on the concrete floor. He suffered severe spinal cord injuries that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Steinberg sued Sahara Sam’s for premises liability, but the court issued a summary judgment in favor of the defendant because Steinberg had signed a liability waiver.

Steinberg appealed the judgment, and the appeals court ordered the trial court to reopen the case and hear testimony from the parties. It found that there was ample evidence that Sahara Sam’s was negligent. For example, the manufacturer of the ride had published new safety warnings two years before Steinberg’s accident, but the park had not posted them. Likewise, the employees of the park received little training on keeping customers safe on the ride. If they had, they would have instructed Steinberg to ride lying down, since he was a first-time rider.

Contact Monaco Law PC About Amusement Park Accidents

Contact Monaco Law PC in Marlton, New Jersey to discuss your amusement park  accident case. Joseph Monaco is a New Jersey personal injury lawyer serving Atlantic County, Burlington County, Cape May County, Camden County, Cumberland County, Gloucester County, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Ocean County, Salem County and all of South Jersey.

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