The recent accident involving a seven-year-old boy at Lightwater Valley Theme Park is a stark reminder of how accidents can occur in environments where we expect safety to be paramount. 

The boy is understood to have fallen between 15 – 30 feet from the ‘Twister’ Rollercoaster ride and was left in critical condition, fighting for his life.

Other visitors to the park spotted the boy hanging out of the Twister cart, a rollercoaster and waltzer combination ride.  He was then seen to fall whilst his mother, who was also riding with him, was left helpless as the ride continued with her in it.

The cause of the accident is not yet known and the HSE continue to investigate.

The same ride was involved in an earlier fatal accident which occurred in 2001 when two of the cars collided and a 20 year old female student was killed.

Stuart Capstick, Head of Personal Injury, Civil & Commercial Litigation, comments:

Whilst theme park rides are expected to excite and give the experience of fear, they should not be in operation unless they can do so safely.

The law requires that occupiers of premises take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of lawful visitors.  There is also an extra requirement, that children should be guarded against danger.  In short, this means that children are less aware of risk and so care needs to be taken to prevent them from exposing themselves to it.

At Jackson Lees we have experience dealing with a number of accidents involving theme park and funfair rides where individuals have suffered avoidable injury; and as a consequence, have sustained financial loss to themselves, their families and to the NHS that have to meet the cost of medical treatment. 

We have a team who deal sensitively with claims involving serious or fatal injuries.

If you have sustained injury in an accident at a theme park or in any other public lace, then call us on 0151 282 1700, request a callback at your convenience or message us your enquiry. We're happy to have a free, no obligation chat!