Orlando Amusement Park Injury Lawyer

Amusement parks, such as Disney, employ massive legal teams who are ready to defend the park against any and all claims for wrongdoing for negligence or product liability. Many different defenses may be raised by the park itself, and one of the most commonly-used defenses is assumption of risk. This defense is based on the concept that if someone knows an act or event is inherently dangerous but chooses to participate anyway, that person is said to have assumed the risk of injury.

When getting on a thrilling ride, such as the Tower of Terror, the rider is obviously assuming some type of risk. After all, that is what makes some of these rides so thrilling. This thrill does not permit complete disregard for health risks on the part of the rider, however. For example, if the person getting on that ride has some type of heart defect, reads the warning signs posted by the park about this risk but still gets on the ride and suffers from a heart attack, the park may be likely to raise the assumption of risk defense for that person’s injuries.

However, this defense is not a blanket one and does not completely relieve the park from any liability for wrongdoing. If a rider gets on a popular water slide at the Wet ‘n Wild Water Park and that slide has a loose screw holding the slide together, resulting in that person’s injury or death, the park will likely not be successful in saying the rider assumed this risk when getting on the slide. After all, who would assume that a screw would pop loose in a widely-used attraction?

Another defense is rider non-compliance with safety rules, although this defense is not an open and shut case. A rider may be said to have not complied with age, weight or height requirements of a certain ride, but this fact does not mean the park employee who was manning the ride may not have been able to notice the child’s smaller size and stature before allowing the child to get on the ride.