A jury awarded $1.2 million to a couple whose daughter was killed when an amusement park roof broke loose during a storm. Strong winds toppled a pavilion housing The Whip ride, and the young lady was struck by the collapsing roof and pinned against a metal fence. This case was unusual in that this claim involved the structure associated with a ride and not the ride itself. For Orlando injury lawyers and lawyers throughout Florida, this case demonstrates the need to ensure local theme parks satisfy or exceed building code.

What’s more, with the series of hurricanes that have exploded on our state in recent years, there is no excuse for amusement and theme parks to ignore taking all reasonable measures to prevent storm related injury and death to patrons. In this tragedy, the family’s attorney said the pavilion was built with posts that did not meet the building code. Obviously, such violations can never be tolerated.

The defense in this case, as in many, raises a causation issue. That tornado-level winds toppled buildings and blew off roofs in the area; and, therefore the amusement park injury and death could not have been prevented despite all reasonable measures. To be sure whenever, an injury or death claim occurs during a natural disaster, the defendant will always have that built-in defense. To prepare properly, weather and local conditions at the time of the tragedy should be preserved. By doing so, you can evaluate what Mother Nature was doing in the area and at the time of your client’s injury.