A death at Iowa’s popular Adventureland theme park has received nationwide attention over the last few weeks as a family fights for justice in court. The incident took place on the Raging River ride, the park’s rafting-themed attraction. A family was buckled in according to the park’s specifications when their raft unexpectedly flipped over. As a result, the participants were trapped upside down, underwater. 11-year-old Michael Jaramillo died from his injuries.
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Here’s what we can learn:
An Avoidable Tragedy
The riders were rendered helpless when the raft flipped over. Their seatbelts did not have any safety mechanism to allow guests to free themselves in the event of an accident. As a result, Jaramillo’s parents could do nothing but watch as their sons were reaching out for assistance, which sadly didn’t come soon enough. Michael ended up succumbing to his injuries, and his brother is currently in critical condition. Accidents like these are a tragedy, and unfortunately, occur all across the United States. While this death was in Iowa, lessons must be learned across the country to protect our families closer to home.
Duty of Care
While there are any number of waivers and clearances that guests fill out as they enter a theme park, contrary to popular belief they don’t fully insulate those parks from litigation. That’s because even though there are some risks to any attraction, theme parks still have what’s called a duty of care to ensure the safety of their visitors. Most often, incidents turn tragic because this duty of care wasn’t fully recognized.
Negligence plays a big part in this. If an accident was avoidable,and a park did not do its homework to prevent obvious potential injuries, then there’s a good chance that the injured party has a personal injury case. After all, amusement parks have an obligation to perform regular ride inspections and implement common-sense safety precautions. This wasn’t the first time someone died on the Raging River ride, and an argument could certainly be made that Michael’s death was very much avoidable.
Contact Gokal Law
Have you recently been injured at a theme park? You may be entitled to a case. Contact Alison Gokal of Gokal Law Group, Inc. Our team will diligently investigate your claims, interview witnesses, and give you the support you need to win your case. The sooner you contact us, the more effective we are at getting you the justice you deserve.
Gokal Law Group is a family firm that treats our clients as if they were our own flesh and blood. We fight for our clients as we would our own children, sisters, brothers, and parents. We are our clients’ Warriors, fighting to bring them justice and right the wrongs they have endured.
Each attorney has a specific practice area for which they are tried, tested, and battle-ready. Each has vast years of experience in their practice area, providing them the knowledge, skills, and vision to fight and win. Learn more about Gokal Law Group.