Recreational Accidents

Rhinebeck, New York Accident Attorneys

Amusement Park Accidents

An amusement park is a recreational facility for both adults and children, which have games, food, various venders, and rides from Ferris Wheels to Bumper Cars to Corkscrew Roller Coasters. These parks have to follow specific laws and regulations depending on their jurisdiction.

In these cases anyone can get injured at anytime. It doesn’t matter the ride, as some or more dangerous than others, and it doesn’t matter the age. Also, liability can vary, due to the circumstances of the accident. Circumstances causing an accident can include rider behavior (unbuckling a seatbelt), operator behavior, mechanical failure, and design limitation. There are many claims brought against amusement parks. The following is a list but not limited to:

• Failure to keep the ride in a safe condition, as in not maintaining it property or keeping up with inspections
• Failure to give proper instructions or warnings about the ride
• Negligence on the operation of the ride causing an injury
• Not warning those with health issues that the ride may be dangerous
• Failure to keep the outside area of the ride safe for the public, as in walkway and sidewalks
• The design of the ride is dangerous, such that normal operation cause injury

Citation: http://www.cellinoandbarnes.com/Personal_Injury_Practice_Areas/Amusement_Park_Accidents.aspx

Drowning

People swim for many reasons such as competitions, therapeutic, and for relaxation. During the summer it is one of the most popular things to do to get cooled off from a hot day, whether it be in a pool, lake, or ocean. Drowning cases are very sad because it is one of the most common causes of death for children 14 and under. Even near drowning experiences can cause a serious long term mental or physical injury.

Drowning most often occur to due improperly built or designed pools, negligent supervision, or failure to maintain pool facilities. Whether the location is at a private pool or public pool proper supervision is always required. Supervising is a job that involves protecting and looking out for any potential dangers that swimmers may encounter. If there is negligence against to person(s) supervising and a drowning occurs legal ramifications may occur to those who did not act for the safety of the general public.

Citation: http://www.kerrysteigerwalt.com/public/drowningaccidents/

Playground Accidents

Each year there are over 200,000 playground accidents that occur in the United States. The injuries that children suffer can be very serious, from concussions to broken bones. The most typical injuries occur from falling off the monkey bars, swings, ladders/climbers, and slides. More than half of playground accidents occur on public property.

Ski/snowboarding Accidents

You may have thought that by skiing you are “assuming all risks,” but when injured due to somebody else’s negligence, the law allows recovery damages. There are five common areas that are the cause of negligence:

• Collision with other snowboarders or skiers, immovable objects(such as trees), or moveable objects, (such as loose boards or skis)
• Ski lift accidents due to negligence in the design of the lift, maintenance, or operation of the lift or due to the negligence of other skiers or boarders around the lifts or passengers of the lift.
• Accidents due to negligent ski areas, such as not marking a known hazard, improper slope maintenance and/or grooming, or inadequate avalanche control.
• Accidents cause by the negligence of a ski instructor, such as failure to give proper safety instructions or allowing a lower level class go on terrain they are not ready for.
• Accidents caused by faulty equipment.

Snow Mobile Accidents

Snowmobiling is a popular recreational activity during the winter in New York, but unfortunately it is dangerous and could very well cause serious injuries or even death. In most cases the cause of injuries are defective snow mobiles, other snow mobile drivers, or even the drivers negligence.

Mall Assaults

Malls and shopping centers around the area attracts tens of thousands of customers daily and on a regular basis. Unfortunately these facilities do little to protect their customers to prevent assaults, rape, robberies, and other violent crimes.

In these types of cases there is a premise liability which means all property owners have a duty of care to provide a safe environment for other people, including tenets, customers, invited guests or people who enter the premises without permission. Under the premise liability law malls and shopping centers have a duty to protect shoppers and customers from foreseeable risks. Property owners must be aware of the crimes that happened on their premise in the past so that they can avoid similar incidences to occur again in the future. There are many ways to stop these incidents from occurring, such as installing video camera, maintaining appropriate lighting in parking lots, hiring private security guards, and requesting additional police patrols.

These types of cases involve both criminal and civil suits. The criminal proceedings may punish the perpetrator, but does not do much to help the victim. You can recover for damages for emotional distress, lost wages, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and future losses/damages because of the property owners negligence.