A day at the amusement park should be fun and memorable — not end in a fatal fall from a roller coaster. But that’s exactly what happened at a Six Flags theme park and now two companies are in a virtual tug-of-war over who was at fault.
A German manufacturer filed a lawsuit against Six Flags Over Texas earlier this month,
after the death of woman who fell from the Texas Giant roller coaster at the Arlington theme park last summer.
Media reports say the move by Gerstlauer Amusement Rides, which made the train cars used on the Texas Giant, is in response to a lawsuit filed by the family of the 52-year-old woman who died after she fell 75 feet from the Texas Giant in July 2013. The family has filed suit against Six Flags and Gestlauer.
Such cases in the media mirror the types of cases personal injury lawyers such as Kirkendall Dwyer LLP handle on a regular basis. Determining who is at fault or who may be negligent in what most would consider a freak accident is part of the expertise that the attorneys bring to the table.
In the filing against Six Flags, Gerstlauer accuses the theme park of negligence and says Six Flags neglected to follow guidelines put in place and didn’t acknowledge safety warnings. The manufacturer also claims the theme park poorly trained employees, did not install seatbelts on the ride and also did not include a test car to make sure riders could properly fit in the seats. The last point was brought up after the size of the woman who was killed was mentioned, according to media reports.
The damages Gerstlauer is seeking have not been named but the company claims Six Flags caused damage to its reputation with the incident.