Causes for Water Park Injury

Sometimes, accidents at water parks just happen, like slip and fall injuries. Other times, the riders do not follow the rules and regulations of the ride or park. But in some cases, accidents are the fault of someone’s negligence. At water parks, the manager, ride operators, and staff have a legal duty of care. This means, that they must be properly trained, have enough staff to oversee all aspects of the park, have enough properly trained lifeguards on duty, post warning signs, enforce their rules and regulations, and maintain the park and inspections that are required. When the park does not maintain these standards of care, they may be at fault for accidents and injuries that occur.

Lack of Training

Some causes for accidents that could be someone’s fault include lack of training. Lack of training could include any of the staff at the park such as lifeguards, ride operators, ride staff, or managers. If someone is not properly trained for their job, they may make mistakes because they did not know what to do or what not to do.

Lack of Staff

Another cause for accidents is a lack of staff placed at a certain ride or location, or lack of staff on the premise of the park. Lack of staff is usually the fault of whoever makes the schedule for the park employees. Understaffed parks can lead to injuries. For example, if there is a lack of lifeguards at a water park, and there are no staff member at a water slide, this can allow young children to break the rules, or have unnecessary accidents because they were not monitored.

A lack of ride staff or operators could cause someone who is less experienced to be operating the ride before they are ready. Lack of ride staff could also mean rushing to check if kids are fastened into rides or if the rider in front of them has left the bottom of the water slide.

Lifeguard Mistakes

Sometimes lifeguards make mistakes, no matter how well trained or experienced. This issue is especially problematic in overcrowded pool and waterpark playgrounds. With so much movement and people everywhere, oversight of a small child beneath the water can occur.

Improper Warnings or Rule Enforcement

Another cause is improper warning signs or height and weight enforcement. If the water park is lacking signs that warn visitors against risks and hazards, this can cause safety issues and riders not having the knowledge they need to decide whether they should go on a ride or not. Also, failing to enforce height and weight requirements of water slides and rides can allow for children who are too big or small to go on a ride and get injured. In one instance, the weight restrictions were not enforced, and a group of teenagers went down a water slide at the same time. The water slide ended up collapsing because of the overbearing weight, and one girl fell to her death.

Lack of Inspection or Poor Maintenance

Lastly, accidents can be caused by the lack of proper ride or park inspection or failure to maintain the rides or park. It is the responsibility of the park owner to make sure that the rides, slides, and park is properly inspected. If a problem with a ride is overlooked, and not inspected, it could put riders in danger. Similarly, owners must make sure that the rides, locker rooms, and entire premise of the park is maintained properly. Not maintaining the rides or the park could include broken items, loose parts on a slide, broken glass, and dirty locker rooms or facilities.

Preventing Injury

Although you can only do so much to prevent others from making mistakes or being negligent, you can know what to look out for and report anything that seems to be potentially dangerous. At a water park, check the staff and safety personnel and make sure that they are alert. If there is something that looks unkept or not maintained, report it to the staff. If you or your child has been injured at a water park, report it immediately to a manager or park owner and call to speak with an attorney as soon as possible.