Advice On Suing A Fairground For Negligence

Fairgrounds capture the popular imagination as places of fun and wonder for children while evoking memories of past pleasures among adults. The popularity of fairgrounds is on the rise, as operators devise more and more sophisticated attractions for visitors. Fairgrounds often cover large areas of land and require a battery of heavy vehicles, machinery, electrical equipment and cabling to set up and power the site. Tens of thousands of visitors will regularly attend fairground sites over consecutive days and nights. Often weather will be poor or visibility will be limited. In these conditions, a maintenance failure will pose a serious injury risk.

Maintenance Failures At Fairground Sites

The majority of fairground accidents are caused by avoidable failures of maintenance. Often visitors and workers will fall and injure themselves at the site. Slip and trip accidents at fairgrounds may involve liquid spillages which are not cleaned up quickly enough or falls over electrical cables hidden in the long grass. Surfaces may also be uneven, obstructed by hazards, or poorly laid out. A surprising number of people are injured at fairgrounds after being struck by objects falling from a height. These may be display signs, pieces of fence or tools falling from machinery. Both bad weather and poor lighting will statistically increase the risk of fairground accidents occurring.

Dangerous Rides & Lack Of Supervision

Accidents that take place on rides are most often minor and are caused by a lack of supervision. Each ride has guidelines as the age and size of persons using them. Cases of whiplash are regularly reported in children who have been allowed onto unsuitable rides such as rollercoasters. In the summer of 2009, two cars on the Big Dipper rollercoaster in Blackpool collided, leaving 21 people with broken bones, facial and neck injuries requiring hospital treatment. Finally, fairground sites feature a range of food and drink options for visitors. Spillages, breakages and poorly prepared food will all present a risk in such establishments.

Legal Responsibilities Of Fairground Owners, Occupiers & Contractors

A fairground can therefore rightly be viewed as an inherently dangerous environment both for visitors and site workers. A team of inspectors are required to perform regular risk assessments on fairgrounds and should examine the operation of rides, safety procedures and general site layout. When a person is injured at a fairground through no fault of their own they may be able to bring a compensation claim against a fairground's organiser, operator, controller, contractor or inspection body. In one recent case, a young woman who was thrown from a ride at a fairground was awarded £35,000 damages against the company contracted to safety test rides at the site.

Fairground Accident Compensation Claims

Provided your claim relates to an accident at a fairground that has taken place in the last three years, Bartletts can represent you on a no win no fee basis. You are assured of keeping 100% of any compensation awarded, with no deductions. In the event that your claim is successful, our fees are paid by the losing party. Apart from financial compensation for pain and suffering, you can also claim for loss of earnings, the cost of medical treatment and travel expenses. The vast majority of the claims we take on are successful, and where they are not we will charge you nothing.