Spring is here, and summer is around the corner. With COVID-19 vaccinations ramping up, many Ohio residents are dreaming about summer fun. Is visiting a water park on your seasonal to-do list? Even when you follow the park’s safety protocols, accidents can still happen. If you’re injured at a water park, it’s important that you discuss your case with a personal injury attorney right away. You may be entitled to compensation for your injuries, medical bills, and more.
Here are some of the most common water park accidents and injuries.
- Slipping and falling. There’s a reason lifeguards admonish people not to run around a pool—water makes surfaces slippery. It’s easy to slip and fall. That’s not only important around the pool areas, but on the ladders and staircases that lead to the waterslides. Children are particularly susceptible to slipping or falling. Since water parks are usually paved with concrete, falling can leave them with serious injuries.
- Back and neck injuries. When you’re riding a water slide or a water ride—especially high-speed slides or those with inner tubes—you may accidentally turn over while on the ride. This can lead to whiplash, back injuries, and strains. Back injuries can occur when people hit the bottom of the pool with their tailbone.
- Drowning and near-drowning experiences are a possibility anytime a body of water is involved. Drowning can happen in wave pools when a person is knocked off their inner tube and trapped underneath other pool-goers, while drains at the bottom of the pool can catch and trap a person’s hair. Since water parks rarely have enough lifeguards to supervise every person present, it’s important that you keep an eye on your children and companions.
- Lacerations like scrapes and cuts are common when going down slides. You might scrape your limbs against the side of the slide, or scrape yourself when hitting the bottom of the pool. These are usually minor, but more serious cuts can occur when the rides are not properly maintained.
- Bacterial infections. Finally, bacterial infections can occur even though most water parks use chlorine to kill germs. This is more likely to occur when you’ve already suffered a laceration. If you find yourself cut at a water park, make sure to wash your cuts and scrapes with fresh, clean water right away.
As long as you are intentional about safety, you’re unlikely to leave the water park with anything worse than a sunburn. If you are injured, however, seek medical treatment and call a lawyer as soon as possible.
Get Compensation for Your Water Park Accident
If you or your loved one has been injured in a water park accident, you may be able to recover compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and more. It’s important to hold the responsible parties accountable—I’ll Make Them Pay!® Call my office at 877.944.4373 today to discuss your case.