Nothing funny about this: amusement park misadventures

We note on our website at Sakkas, Cahn & Weiss, LLP, that “New York is one of the world’s biggest tourist attractions.”

OK, that is an admittedly mundane utterance and not likely to qualify as a media headline anywhere.

We do believe the statement is eminently notable, though, in the context of personal injury, specifically injuries that occur as the result of third-party negligence.

Our Premises Liability website page makes the point — which undoubtedly strikes virtually all our readers as being manifestly reasonable — that property owners have a legal duty to render their premises safe for visitors and customers.

Nowhere is such an obligation more obvious and unremitting than in an owner’s duty to make an amusement park safe for public visitors.

When such is not the case, things are not, well, particularly amusing.

Consider what occurred earlier this year on Coney Island in Brooklyn, where a ride termed in one media article as “arguably the most famous roller coaster in the world” malfunctioned, forcing riders to descend from the top by foot.

Ride breakdowns are not the sole source of potential danger for amusement park visitors. As noted in the above-cited article, fights that break out at such venues spell clear dangers for passersby. One such episode occurred recently in Florida at Disney World’s Epcot Park. Another incident described as a “melee” took place earlier this year at a Pittsburgh amusement park, involving more than 50 fighting teenagers.

Amusement parks have obvious upsides and create magical memories for individuals and families.

It is incumbent that property owners take all actions reasonably necessary to keep them safe.