Maryland Accident Law Blog
There is no greater tragedy than the death of a child. When a child’s death results from negligence, their grieving family can begin to seek closure through a wrongful death lawsuit.
Unfortunately, one family was left grieving earlier this month when an 11-year-old boy was killed at an Iowa amusement park. Reports say that the boy passed away after the raft he was on overturned at the park. Although first responders and witnesses arrived to render care to the six passengers aboard the raft, the boy could not be saved. Several other passengers were hospitalized following the incident, including a second child who was said to be in critical condition.
According to reports, officials are still in the early stages of investigating this amusement park disaster. A key question could be whether negligence was a factor in the child’s death.
Under Maryland law, the legal category of “wrongful death” includes deaths caused by negligence, meaning a lack of reasonable care. Therefore, deaths caused by a lack of reasonable care entitle the immediate family members of the deceased person to file a wrongful death lawsuit against those responsible. A wrongful death lawsuit enables families to seek monetary compensation for their pain and suffering and other losses.
Importantly, families must file a wrongful death lawsuit in order to seek damages from the people or companies responsible for an accident even if officials have separately brought criminal charges.
Although amusement park deaths are rare, this incident calls to mind the many parks in Maryland and Virginia where this accident could have occurred. When choosing an amusement park for your family to visit, it is therefore important to consider not just the proximity of the park or the amenities, but also the park’s track record for safety. Indeed, the boy’s untimely death apparently was not the first fatality associated with the ride where the accident occurred.
What Are the Causes of Amusement Park Accidents?
Many of the common causes of amusement park accidents involve negligence. Specifically, amusement park accidents are often the result of unsafe ride design, defective manufacturing, negligent operation of the ride, or negligent hiring and training of amusement park workers. Inadequate inspection and maintenance of amusement park rides are also commonly to blame for park accidents. According to reports, the ride where the boy died had been inspected the day prior to the accident. Time may tell whether any inspection was negligent. For example, it is possible that the inspector skipped a step in the inspection process or rushed through the safety checks. Such actions, if they occurred, could be viable grounds for a wrongful death action based on negligence.
Contact a Maryland Attorney for Immediate Assistance
Although we hope you will never need our services, our decades of experience in personal injury law have demonstrated to us that accidents can be hard to predict. If you have lost a loved one in an accident, contact Lebowitz & Mzhen today to explore your options for a wrongful death lawsuit. Our team is standing by to hear your story and can offer families like yours compassion, understanding, and seasoned legal advice during this difficult time. Call us at 800-654-1949 to speak with a Lebowitz & Mzhen lawyer today.