Theme Park accidents can be caused by slip or trip and falls, by a malfunctioning or overly dangerous ride or by the negligence of an employee of the theme park. There can even be accidents while riding in transportation provided by the theme parks. With the millions of visitors that come to Orlando area theme parks each year, the theme parks have adopted the attitude that they will not fairly and promptly resolve these claims. You should not be surprised when the claim department for the Park denies your claim after you arrive back home. If that happens, you should stop speaking with the Park’s claim department altogether and call us or fill out our Web Form for a free consultation.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE INJURED IN AN ORLANDO THEME PARK
While it is important to care for the injured person, most of these theme park injuries occur in the presence of friends or family. Someone should be told to document the scene of the injury. In these cases, documentation of the condition that caused the injury is critical. While injury on a ride may be difficult to document, other dangerous conditions such as broken devices or foreign substances or defects in a roadway or sidewalk can be preserved by photographs or video. Just as most people are with friends and family when they are injured, most people also have still and video cameras with them. Indeed, many digital cameras today can also take video. DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT the scene. This is so important. Rest assured that any condition will be repaired, cleaned up or re-designed soon after you are taken away and all evidence of what caused your injury will be gone forever.
It is also important, if possible, to obtain the names, addresses and phone numbers of any witnesses and of any Theme Park employees who saw the incident and/or rendered aid. Most people are happy to cooperate and help. Even the Theme Park employees. If anyone does not feel comfortable in helping, do not force the issue.
While you are still at the scene of the injury, someone from management and/or security may ask for a statement of what happened. The statement may be recorded or the person may write down what you told them. We recommend you do not give them a recorded statement of any kind. Do not prepare a written statement for them either. And if they write down what you say and then ask you to sign it, we recommend you do not sign it. In fact, we recommend that you do not sign anything. Any report the Park prepares is for its own use. There is no legal requirement for them to provide you with a copy of the Incident Report. Any information you give them will be used to begin the investigation into what happened. More than likely, their investigation will be over before you even arrive home.
Do not anticipate that the Park will voluntarily cover your any medical bills. If you have your own health insurance or medical coverage through travel insurance you purchased for your trip, use it at any medical facility you go to for your injuries. While you may not feel you should have to use your insurance, rest assured the Theme Park will not be paying your medical expenses anytime soon, if at all. So it is better to get your bills paid for through your health insurance than to have unpaid bills reported to your credit history.
Unless you have a very serious injury that requires immediate transportation to a hospital, chances are you will be taken to the Park’s on-site medical center. Many of our clients have told us they were rudely treated in these centers. You may be asked to fill out paperwork and included in this paperwork may be a medical release or authorization allowing the Theme Park to obtain your personal medical information. We recommend you avoid signing any of these forms.
When you arrive back home, you may receive a letter from the claim department for the Theme Park asking you to call. Once again, be aware that whatever you say may be recorded even if the people you speak to do not directly say so. We have all heard the recordings when calling a customer service number that says this call may be recorded for quality control or training purposes. In other words, you are being recorded.
As soon as possible after the injury, you should sit down and record a detailed recollection of what happened, including the date, time of day, what the weather was like, where you were going, were you were coming, who you were with, etc. If you have a case, this information will be essential to refresh your recollection later on in your case. If you do not do this, you may forget small but important details.
While you may want to contact an attorney where you live, chances are the Theme Park will deny your claim. When that happens the only other step you can take is to file a lawsuit against the Theme Park. If you have a hometown attorney and the claim is denied, he will have to look for a Florida attorney to refer the case to so suit can be filed. Sometimes it is easier to hire a local Orlando Theme Park injury attorney instead of the hometown attorney.
Our attorneys have years of experience handling Theme Park personal injury cases. Most of those clients live out of state. We are comfortable working with our clients who live in other parts of the United States. With e-mail accessibility and toll free telephone numbers, being available for our clients is easier than ever. So if you have been injured in an accident at an Orlando area Theme Park, call us today at (407) 423-1313 or contact us online now for a free consultation without any obligation.
Click Here to Contact a Florida Theme Park Accident Attorney
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