Amusement Ride and Fair Injuries in Ohio: Your Rights

Published July 31, 2018 · Injury Law Basics

A year ago last week, on the opening day of the 2017 Ohio State Fair, the Fire Ball ride broke apart in mid-swing. Eighteen-year-old Tyler Jarrell was killed and several other riders were badly hurt. This summer, as county fairs open across Montgomery, Greene, Warren and Miami counties and the State Fair runs in Columbus, many parents are standing in line at the midway with that image in the back of their minds.

Most rides run safely, most of the time. But when one does not, the injuries are often catastrophic, and the legal questions are more complicated than in an ordinary injury case. Here is how Ohio law approaches amusement-ride and fair injuries, and what families should do if something goes wrong.

How Ohio regulates amusement rides

Ohio treats ride safety as a public-safety matter. Under the amusement-ride provisions of the Revised Code (R.C. 1711.50 through 1711.57), the Ohio Department of Agriculture issues permits for rides operated in the state, inspects them, and adopts rules for their safe operation and inspection. The Director of Agriculture may fine ride owners who violate the statutes or the department's rules.

Those rules are enforced strictly. In one case, a state appeals court upheld a fine against a ride company after a newly hired worker ran a children's ride at the Franklin County Fairgrounds while visibly intoxicated, even though the company did not know about his drinking. The court reasoned that rules protecting the riding public can be enforced without proof that the owner was at fault. Bates Amusements, Inc. v. Ohio Dept. of Agriculture, 2003-Ohio-7013 (7th Dist.).

A state inspection sticker is not a guarantee, and it does not end a civil case. Regulatory rules set minimum standards. When a ride owner, operator or inspector falls short of those standards, or of ordinary care, the people hurt can bring a civil claim for their injuries, and violations of safety rules are often strong evidence in that claim.

Who can be responsible when a ride injures someone

Amusement-ride cases almost always involve more than one potential defendant. That matters, because more defendants usually means more insurance and a better chance of a full recovery.

The ride owner and operator. Traveling carnival companies and amusement parks are responsible for assembling rides correctly after each move, maintaining them, training operators, enforcing height and weight limits, checking restraints and running the ride at the right speed. Many serious ride injuries trace back to a skipped inspection, a restraint that was not checked, or an operator who was rushed, untrained or impaired.

Inspectors. Private inspection firms and engineers hired to evaluate a ride can be responsible if they miss corrosion, cracked welds or worn parts that a careful inspection would have found. In the Fire Ball case, the first settlement reported in March 2018 included private inspection companies alongside the ride's operator. I wrote about that settlement in April.

The manufacturer. When a ride fails because of how it was designed or built, or because the manufacturer failed to warn owners about a known problem, the manufacturer can be liable under Ohio's product-liability law. Claims against the Fire Ball's manufacturer were continuing when the first settlement was announced.

The fair, park or property owner. The fair board, event organizer or landowner may be responsible for dangerous conditions on the grounds: uneven walkways, exposed cables, poor lighting, crowded exits, or unsafe placement of rides and generators.

Not just the big rides

Some of the most common fair and festival injuries do not involve the headline rides at all:

• Inflatables. Bounce houses and inflatable slides can collapse or blow over in wind if they are not properly anchored, and overcrowding leads to collisions between children of very different sizes.
• Kiddie rides. Small rides are often run by the least experienced workers. Fingers, arms and legs caught in moving parts are a recurring injury.
• Midway hazards. Trips over cables and stakes, falls on grandstand steps, and burns from food-vendor equipment are premises cases like any other.
• Animal exhibits and barns. Kicks, bites and crush injuries happen in livestock areas, especially to children.

The "rider rules" defense

When a rider is hurt, the operator's insurer will often argue that the rider caused the problem: that he stood up, unbuckled, was too tall or too short, or ignored posted rules. Sometimes rides also carry warning signs or ticket language suggesting that riders "assume the risk."

Those arguments are not the end of the story. Ohio's comparative-fault law reduces, but does not bar, the recovery of a person who was partly careless, so long as that person was not more at fault than everyone else combined. Children are held to a child's standard of care. And printed disclaimers and waivers are read narrowly; I have explained elsewhere how Ohio courts treat liability waivers. Most important, a properly designed, maintained and operated ride should not throw, crush or drop a rider who makes an ordinary mistake.

Why time is short in a ride case

Traveling carnivals are, by design, temporary. The ride that injured your child on Saturday may be torn down Sunday night and set up in another county or another state by Wednesday. Parts get repaired or replaced. Operator logs and maintenance records travel with the company.

That is why early action matters so much:

• Get medical care first, and keep every record.
• Keep the ticket, wristband or receipt, and photograph them.
• Photograph and video the ride, including its name, any identification plate, the operator's booth and the area around it.
• Write down names of the operator, any supervisor, fair officials, and other riders or parents who saw what happened.
• Ask that an incident report be made, and note who took it.
• Call a lawyer quickly, so that a preservation demand can go to the ride owner, the fair and the insurers before the ride leaves town and before anything is repaired.

When a child is hurt, special rules also apply to deadlines and to court approval of any settlement; our post on children's injury claims explains them. When a ride injury is fatal, the claim is brought by the personal representative of the estate as a wrongful-death action, and the probate court must approve any settlement.

What this means for you

Ohio inspects and regulates amusement rides, but regulation does not guarantee safety, and it does not replace the right of an injured rider to be fully compensated. Ride cases typically involve an owner, an operator, inspectors, a manufacturer and a fair or property owner, each with its own insurance. The evidence that ties them together disappears fast.