Fairground Accidents

Thousands of people each year flock to theme parks and funfairs across the country seeking thrills and excitement from roller coasters and other daring fast rides.

Whilst most of the time there are very few accidents, and the owners and organisers of theme parks and funfairs are very careful when it comes to safety checks and maintenance of the rides, there are still incidents happening which cause very serious injuries, sometimes even fatal.

Travelling funfairs are particularly dangerous. Covering large areas of land they require lots of heavy vehicles, electrical equipment and machinery and cabling to set up and power the site. Poor weather means the land the fair is set up on can become muddy and full of pot holes from the heavy weight that has travelled over it. Rides such as dodgems, merry go rounds and roller coasters are high motion rides, even a slight mechanical failure could have disastrous consequences when set up on land like this.

But it isn’t just travelling fairs where accidents can happen. In the summer of 2009 the famous Pleasure Beach at Blackpool hit the headlines when 2 of the cars on the Big Dipper ride collided causing injury to 21 people.

Fairground owners have a responsibility to ensure rides are checked, tested and maintained on a regular basis. Failure to do this will result in serious injuries, possibly fatalities.

They also have a responsibility to ensure that riders are of the correct height for a ride. There have been many cases of children suffering whiplash after being allowed on roller coasters they weren’t tall enough for.

If you have suffered an injury whilst at a funfair or theme park you may be able to make a claim for compensation.

Call 0844 704 1945 or enquire online and we will call you back.