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Overview of Amusement Ride Liability and Safety in Louisiana: Legal Insights and Case Studies

Amusement rides - whether at a fixed-site amusement park or part of a traveling carnival or fair - are designed to convey a high degree of perceived risk to the rider while simultaneously exposing little to no actual risk. Doing so consistently and safely requires operators to reasonably inspect, maintain, and test rides and train and supervise their personnel regarding safety. Although amusement ride injuries do not happen every day, they do happen and when they happen, they are often quite serious, especially if the injury is suffered by a child or teenager, with statistics showing that the most common injuries to children and teenagers are injuries to the head and neck. This slideshow discusses recent amusement ride incidents, verdicts, settlements, and personal injury litigation and explores legal duties, liability issues, and notable injury cases related to amusement rides in Louisiana, emphasizing safety, operator responsibilities, and rider conduct.

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Amusement Ride Liability in Louisiana James d’Entremont August 24, 2026 www.louisianalawpros.com 225-766-5001 Serving all of Louisiana
Amusement rides, while generally safe, can and regularly do cause injury when proper precautions are not considered or followed. When amusement rides cause injuries, the injuries can be serious, even deadly, especially if it is a child or teenager who is injured.
Last week (Aug. 17-23), saw an Oregon jury award damages totaling $550,000 to two teenage girls ($275,000 each) who spent 25 minutes suspend high in the air hanging upside down on an amusement park ride and a malfunctioning ride at a fair inTennessee causing injuries to several riders.
One of the most tragic amusement ride injuriews occurred in August 2016 at Schlitterbahn-Kansas City’s Verruckt Waterslide: 10 year-old son of a Kansas state representative killed on “Elected Officials Day” at the park.
News reports stated that the boy became airborne during the ride, made impact with safety netting surrounding the slide and suffered a “fatal neck wound,” later confirmed to be decapitation.
The Verruckt Waterslide was billed as the “World’sTallest Waterslide” (“Verruckt” translates to “crazy” or “insane”).
Early testing showed that rafts could become airborne on the ride. Post-incident analysis questioned using unattached rafts and the weight distribution of the riders on the boy’s raft.
After the accident, the slide was taken out of commission. In 2017, the boy’s family reportedly agreed to a nearly $20 million settlement with the park operators, the general contractor who built the ride, the raft manufacturer and safety consultants.
More recently, the X2 “extreme” rollercoaster at Six Flag’s Magic Mountain park in California has been alleged to caused serious injuries in multiple incidents, including the death of a 22 year-old in 2022 and , on July 5, 2026, the collapse of a rider shorly after getting off the ride, leading to closure of the X2 and an investigation by Cal/OSHA’s Amusement Ride andTramway Unit.
The X2 was promoted and marketed by Six Flags as a “right of passage for the ultimate daredevil” hitting speeds of up to 76 miles an hour, 200 feet in the air, with 360-degree rotating seats and “head-first. Face down drops” making the X2 “downright scary.”
On the day in question in the lawsuit (June 23, 2022), in addition to the ride’s inherent speed, motion, and trajectory, it is alleged that the “entirety of the X2 ride was extremely rough” causing it to jerk “its riders around like ragdolls” and concluding with a sudden, abrupt, and violent jolt, allegedly causing a shearing injury to the brain akin to shaken- baby-syndrome.
• Last Thursday (Aug. 20), the family of the young man who died from brain injury suffered shortly after getting off the X2 agreed to settle their claims against a defendant that performed work on the ride. The settlement awaits court approval. • The claims against Six Flags remain and are reportedly set for trial on September 8, 2026 in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County (State of California). • One of the issues to be decided if the case proceeds to trial is whether the ride on the day in question was operating precisely in the way it was designed and intended and, if so, can Six Flags be held at fault. • Another key issue is whether Six Flag’s negligence – e.g, failure to maintain, inspect, repair, monitor, etc. – is to blame thereby making Six Flags liable. Who’s to blame?
As in other types of personal injury cases, Louisiana courts employ duty/risk analysis to evaluate liability in amusement ride cases • Duty of reasonable care under the circumstances. • Duty not to expose patrons to unreasonable risks of harm. • Premises and equipment must be reasonably safe for the purpose intended. • Identify & either remove, correct or adequately warn of hazards.
Operators must take reasonable steps to reduce or prevent injury, make ride or activity as safe as reasonably possible (and certainly cannot increase risk of harm). Includes furnishing “such equipment or services as is necessary to minimize or prevent injury to others from conditions which probably, or foreseeably may cause damage.” Rosenberger v. Central Louisiana Dist. Livestock Show, Inc., 312 So.2d 300 (La. 1975).
Duty to inspect, maintain and test Facility operators must adequately inspect, maintain and test the premises, apparatuses and equipment provided to ensure that they are in proper working order and reasonably safe for the purpose intended.
Inherent risks versus increased risks
Inherent risks versus increased risks • Operators are not the insurers of their patrons and are not liable for injuries from risks inherent in the ride or activity itself. • However, operators will be liable for injuries caused by abnormal operation of the ride or amusement. SeeWilcox v. Park Amusements, Inc., 468 So.2d 704 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1985). • Conduct cannot increase risk of harm.
Who’s to blame? – Rider Fault - Harvey ex rel. Bates v.T.H.E. Ins. Co., 1999-1440 (La.App. 3 Cir. 6/28/00), 764 So.2d 354. Riders are required to follow safety rules. See La.R.S. 40:1485.4 (establishing a “Code of rider conduct”). However, operators have a duty to take action when they see patrons engaging in unsafe conduct that increases the risk of harm to the patron or other riders.
As we head towards the Labor Day weekend, the end of summer, and the coming of the Fall festival and fair season, have fun - but be sure to stay safe! • Follow all safety instructions and warnings pertaining to a ride. • If you see someone disobeying safety instructions or warnings, whether it’s a ride operator, another rider, or anyone else, report it and do not go on the ride until the problem is taken care of. • If you reason to believe a ride may be malfunctioning or not operating properly, report it and do not go on the ride. • Photos or video of conditions or conduct that raise safety concerns can be helpful in getting the safety-related issue resolved. • When in doubt, don’t get on a ride.
Some of our most important clients are also our smallest www.louisianalawpros.com 225-766-5001 Serving all of Louisiana