Pittsburgh
Traveling Carnival Injury Lawyer

On This Page

1. Liability and Traveling Carnival Injuries
2. Why do traveling carnival injuries occur?
3. Who is responsible for maintaining traveling carnival safety?
4. Can I take legal action after a traveling carnival injury?
5. What type of injuries can happen at a traveling carnival?
6. How can a traveling carnival injury lawyer establish negligence?

REVIEWED BY

C. William Kenny

December 12, 2023

Board certified by National Board of Trial Advocacy

Liability and Traveling Carnival Injuries

Spending the day with your family at a traveling carnival should be fun—not deadly.

Unfortunately, traveling carnivals, festivals, and fairs pose many dangers to kids and adults alike. When injuries occur on midway rides or attractions, someone’s negligence may be to blame. If so, a traveling carnival injury lawyer in Pittsburgh can help you pursue the compensation you deserve.

Before you speak to anyone, give a statement, or sign any releases, contact the personal injury attorneys of Berger and Green. We can help. Call today at 412-661-1400 for a free case evaluation.

Why do traveling carnival injuries occur?

In Pittsburgh, we enjoy dozens of fairs, carnivals, and amusement parks. During the summer, you can always find a traveling carnival nearby.

A traveling midway usually involves a different experience than a year-round carnival or large fair. The rides may be older, poorly maintained, or fabricated with inferior materials.

Some of the most common reasons for midway ride failures include:

• Design defects;
• Defective parts;
• Mechanical failure;
• Improper maintenance;
• Improper warning notices;
• Missing or malfunctioning safety features;
• Operator error or lack of operator training;
• Operator or assembler fatigue; and
• Lack of safety inspection.

In some carnival ride injuries, the rider may contribute to an accident by failing to follow safety directives. However, each ride’s design should prevent a serious injury in most cases.

Our attorneys can help you determine how your injury occurred in your case.

Who is responsible for maintaining traveling carnival safety?

In Pennsylvania, the Department of Agriculture (PDA) oversees the safety of amusement parks and rides.

Their guidelines require a safety inspection of every amusement attraction or ride, whether traveling or fixed, before it opens to the public. The PDA also requires follow-up inspections every 30 days or each time the carnival staff disassembles, moves, and reassembles the ride.

If your injury occurred on a ride or attraction that PDA inspected, we can hold the inspector liable for the accident and your injuries.

In most carnival injury accidents, however, safety inspections may not have identified the problem. Operator error, misconduct, and fatigue are frequently to blame for these accidents. If this happened in your case, we will hold the carnival company responsible.

Can I take legal action after a traveling carnival injury?

Few traveling fairs and carnivals operate without insurance, as the PDA requires operators to carry coverage. Consequently, in almost every case, you can pursue legal recourse through the insurance company.

We can help you file a claim for compensation against the responsible party’s insurance company. If negotiation during the claims process breaks down, we can take your case to court with a lawsuit.

It makes sense to pursue compensation in traveling carnival injury cases. A fair financial settlement can provide you with appropriate medical care for your injuries or those of your child. This is especially important if the injuries were life-threating or involved any long-term disability or permanent damage.

The other compelling reason to pursue a claim is to send a strong message that will hopefully prevent other families from going through what you currently face.

The total value of your carnival ride injury claim will depend on the nature of your injuries. However, we will include all medical costs to date, estimated future costs of medical care, any lost wages and reduced future earning potential, pain and suffering, and loss of life’s enjoyment when we calculate your claim’s value.

What type of injuries can happen at a traveling carnival?

A traveling carnival injury can happen in several different ways. Often, carnival attendees suffer injury after falling off of a ride, tripping or falling on a walkway, or suffering an accident at a booth or attraction. Any of these accidents can cause a variety of injuries, including:

• Bruises;
• Bloody noses;
• Broken bones;
• Soft tissue injuries to ligaments, tendons, and muscles;
• Traumatic brain injuries;
• Neck and spine injuries;
• Loss of digits or limbs;
• Decapitation; and
• Death.

How can a traveling carnival injury lawyer establish negligence?

Many times, in order to recover damages after this type of accident, we need to prove the at-fault party acted with negligence.

The traveling carnival owes a duty of care to all visitors to provide a reasonably safe environment. That includes the reasonable expectation of safety while riding rides or visiting attractions.

If the carnival owners failed to properly maintain a ride, failed to post proper safety notices, or failed to train ride operators correctly, they breached their duty of care to you. If that breach caused an accident in which you or a loved one sustained injuries, the owner has legal responsibility for your damages because of their negligence.

Other parties may contribute to a midway accident as well. The owner of the property where the carnival sets up, for example, has an obligation to provide a safe, level walking surface. If you break your ankle by tripping over a pothole in the dark, the property owner could be negligent.

Finding a traveling carnival injury lawyer in Pittsburgh

The attorneys of Berger and Green understand the traumatic nature of your accident and injuries, especially if your child fell victim of someone’s negligence. Contact us today at 412-661-1400 to schedule a free consultation or to speak to one of our traveling carnival injury lawyers in Pittsburgh.