Can I Sue for a Roller Coaster Accident?

According to Nevada law, a person who was injured by or on a roller coaster may file a lawsuit against the operator of the roller coaster or even the owner. The most common types of injuries can include blackouts, trouble breathing, effects from whiplash, stomach injuries, and even facial injuries. 

Even if a roller coaster accident did not result in serious injury, if the damage was caused due to the negligence of the roller coaster operator/owner, you may still be able to recover damages.

How Do I Prove It Was the Roller Coaster’s Fault?

In Nevada, companies that either own or rent a property that the public is allowed access to have an obligation to exercise the necessary care to prevent injury.

A lawsuit against an owner/operator would argue that the company did not meet their obligation to prevent foreseeable injury and, therefore, are responsible for the injury. 

This is commonly known as a claim of negligence.

Negligence in a Roller Coaster Accident

To successfully raise a lawsuit on the grounds of negligence, four elements must be proven:

1. There must exist a duty of care.
2. That duty of care must have been breached.
3. The breach in duty of care was the proximate cause of the injury.
4. The resulting injury gave rise to demonstrable monetary loss.

Duty of Care

The first element of a negligence claim is there must be a duty of care. This relates to a duty that the owner/operator would have to ensure that foreseeable injuries are prevented by taking proactive measures to ensure safety.

This duty is to prevent foreseeable injury. An example of a foreseeable injury would be if an entryway to a business was constantly wet due to melting snow from the outside. Here, it is foreseeable that the water from the outside snow could make the entry a falling risk for customers, and the store would need to take action to prevent such injury.

Breach

The second element of a negligence claim is there must have been a breach in that duty of care. After demonstrating that there was a duty of care, the net step is demonstrating that the owner/operator breached that duty by not taking preventive measures to protect against foreseeable injuries. Relating back to the grocery store example, if it was clear that the entryway was constantly wet from the snow and the store did nothing to prevent or mitigate the risk of customers slipping, this would be a breach in their duty of care.

Harm

The third element is usually the most obvious, given this is where the injury comes into play. It is not enough to simply have a breached duty of care; there must be an injury that a person can recover monetary damages from. Going back to the grocery store example, if a customer were to walk into the store and fall because the entryway was wet and there was no effort to prevent the injury, the breach of duty was the proximate cause of the injury.

Monetary Damages

The final element is there must be a demonstrable monetary loss for which a person can recover. This is typically shown through medical bills, loss of wages for the time spent recovering and not being able to work, as well as things like pain and suffering. This is calculated into a dollar amount which is argued that if the owner/operator caused the damage because of their breach of duty, they should be the one to pay for the loss. However, it is always best to seek the assistance of a personal injury lawyer that can better explain the specific issues of your case to ensure you are receiving the best advice possible.

The Clark County Department of Building Codes regulates amusement park rides in Las Vegas. They state that all ATS must be inspected, operated correctly by qualified individuals and properly maintained to ensure safety for everyone involved. If there is an accident resulting from the ride as a result of injury or death it has to immediately stop operating so no one can get hurt anymore than they already are. There should also be someone designated who oversees maintenance, technicality and operation during this time if anything happens with the ride again before its deemed safe enough to operate once more.”

Shook & Stone Personal Injury Attorneys can help you recover damages sustained in the event of an amusement park ride. Contact us for a free no-obligation consultation. Our legal team has decades of experience helping those injured through no-fault of their own.