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$109 Million
Largest Verdict in a Personal Injury case
in Pennsylvania history
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$100 Million
Medical Malpractice
Largest-ever compensatory verdict
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$153 Million
Then-second largest Product
Liability verdict in U.S. history
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$38.2 Million
Delaware County
Auto Accident Verdict
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$36.4 Million
Workplace Injury
Largest single-victim fatality settlement
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$51 Million
Premises Liability/
Civil Rights verdict
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Amusement Ride Injury Lawyers
Pennsylvania - New Jersey - Delaware - New York - Nationwide

A six-year-old boy is killed in a ride accident at a Pennsylvania carnival. A three-year-old girl suffers fatal head injuries on a ride at an amusement park in Las Vegas. A 57-year-old woman is killed and a four-year-old girl left paralyzed after a miniature train derails and overturns at an Indiana amusement park. A boy dies in a fall from a Ferris wheel in New Jersey
These were all real events, and many more like them occur every year all across the United States. Accidents at amusement parks and on rides at carnivals and other sites result in an alarming number of injuries – an average of roughly 9,000 per year, according to estimates by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
If you or someone you know suffered a severe injury on an amusement ride, you may want to contact an amusement ride attorney for a free evaluation of your case.
While many of the injures are minor and result in little more than scrapes and bruises, many others are very serious. An average of 4.5 per year result in death.
A number of the mishaps and resulting injuries are no doubt at least partly the fault of reckless riders, but many others are caused by negligence including defective machinery or careless ride operators.
Many of the accidents result in lawsuits, with the amusement park and ride owners eventually making substantial compensation to victims. People severely injured because of an amusement park (called fixed-site) or mobile amusement rides should contact an experienced attorney.
The lawyers at Kline & Specter have won major awards and settlements in a variety premises and product liability lawsuits, many of them very involved and complex. (See our Major Victories and Notable Cases.) In 2010, Tom Kline won a settlement of nearly $2 million in a Pittsburgh case in which a woman was killed when when a pavilion collapsed at Kennywood Park. (See stories and TV clips).
Click here to contact an amusement ride lawyer.
Non-Occupational Amusement Ride Injury Estimates
| Year | Mobile Rides | Fixed-Site Rides | Total |
| 1997 | 2,800 | 5,100 | 7,800 |
| 1998 | 2,900 | 6,400 | 9,300 |
| 1999 | 2,900 | 7,700 | 10,600 |
| 2000 | 4,000 | 6,700 | 10,700 |
| 2001 | 2,700 | 5,800 | 8,500 |
| 2002 | 3,000 | 3,800 | 6,800 |
Source: U.S. Consumer Protection Safety Commission, based on emergency room reports.
(1997 apparent total inaccuracy is due to estimates being rounded to the nearest 100.)
Most common types of amusement ride injuries, by part of the body, 1993-2000:
| Body Part | Number | Percentage |
| Neck | 10,669 | 16.24 |
| Trunk, lower | 7,842 | 11.94 |
| Head | 6,641 | 10.11 |
| Trunk, upper | 6,059 | 9.22 |
| Face | 5,296 | 8.06 |
| Shoulder | 3,133 | 4.77 |
| Knee | 2,941 | 4.48 |
| Ankle | 2,864 | 4.36 |
| Foot | 2,653 | 4.04 |
| Wrist | 2,489 | 3.79 |
| Finger | 2,406 | 3.66 |
| Leg, lower | 1,576 | 2.40 |
| Eyeball | 1,559 | 2.37 |
| Elbow | 1,520 | 2.31 |
| Hand | 1,246 | 1.90 |
| Arm, lower | 1,005 | 1.53 |
| Leg, Upper | 943 | 1.44 |
| Mouth | 916 | 1.39 |
| Ear | 798 | 1.22 |
Source: U.S. CPSC, based on injuries suffered from 1993-2000
Kline & Specter handles cases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York and Nationwide, working with local attorneys in states outside PA, NJ and NY.
In Pennsylvania, Kline & Specter handles cases in and around: Allentown, Altoona, Bethlehem, Chester, Doylestown, Drexel Hill, Easton, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Hazleton, Johnstown, Lancaster, Levittown, McCandless, McKeesport, Monroeville, Norristown, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Pottstown, Radnor, Reading, Scranton, State College, West Chester, Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport and York.
In New Jersey, the firm handles cases in and around: Atlantic City, Bayonne, Brick Township, Camden, Cherry Hill, Clifton, Edison, Elizabeth, Fort Lee, Jersey City, Lakewood, Millville, Newark, New Brunswick, Paterson, Pennsauken, Plainfield, Toms River, Trenton, Union, Vineland, Voorhees and Willingboro.
Amusement Ride News and Information
CPSC – Amusement Ride-Related Injuries and Deaths in the United States – 2003 Update
RideAccidents.com - a comprehensive source for amusement ride accident reports and related news.
- A family with four children injured in an amusement park accident has reached a $3.3 million settlement with the ride owner and its manufacturer. One of the children suffered head injuries and now has severe learning disabilities. In all, 23 children were injured when the swing-style ride collapsed. Following the crash, state investigators found that improper maintenance by the ride owner caused a lock washer to fail and two lock nuts to come loose. The manufacturer was held liable because it failed to properly warn ride owners of the risk of the lock nut failure after a similar accident two years before. (Full story)
- A newspaper examines the safety records of Texas theme parks and carnivals and finds that injuries often go unreported. Texas ride owners told state officials that more than 1,800 people suffered amusement park injuries from 2000 to 2008, an average of about 230 per year. Amusement park industry officials consider accidents an unfortunate but unavoidable cost of doing business. (Full story)
- One of the first changes Walt Disney World made following its fatal amusement park accident was requiring monorail train drivers to back up using controls in the rear cab. The order came after a pilot in the front cab reversed direction and wound up backing into another train, killing the operator. Former monorail pilots say Disney's order is a return to what used to be a standard procedure, which was changed to save time. (Full story)
- A woman involved in an amusement park accident was hospitalized for a burst blood vessel in her brain. The woman hurt her head while riding the Son of Beast roller coaster at Kings Island in Ohio. The Son of Beast was shut down for nearly a year after 27 people were hospitalized in a 2006 accident.
- A summer worker was critically injured when he was struck by a ride at the Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. A roller coaster car hit the worker as he attempted to retrieve a hat dropped by a child on the ride. (Full story)
- Pittsburgh jury awards $1.2 million in amusement park mishap that claimed a woman's life. (Stories and TV news clips)
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says about 10,000 amusement ride-related injuries occur each year.(Full story)
- Serious safety violations involving Ohio amusement park rides are uncovered.(Full story)
- Girl is hospitalized after hitting her head while on a spinning teacup ride at an amusement park.(Full story)
- Child Dies After Disney World Ride (Full story)
- Park Sued Over Coaster Death (Full story)
- Murder Trial to Begin in Carnival Death (Full story)


































