Wisconsin Dells is claimed to be the indoor waterpark capital of the world. I have no reason to disbelieve since I live close to the Dells and have been a firsthand observer of the tremendous growth in both indoor and outdoor waterparks as well as amusement parks in the Dells area. They draw people from all over the mid-west.
Waterparks and amusement parks are great fun; however, they come with risk. I have represented people with a variety of injuries because of the negligence of the employees as well as the facilities being improperly designed as well as failure to warn people of potential dangers. The injuries have ranged from minimal such as sprained ankles and lower back injuries to one situation in which I represented somebody who had extreme head injury. Fortunately, that client survived but unfortunately was seriously injured. Ultimately, we had a favorable recovery.
The first rule is to follow the rules. Height and weight restrictions are placed for a reason. Second, use your common sense. If it doesn’t look safe then don’t go on the ride or let your child on the ride. There are plenty of other rides that you or your child can go on.
For example, I was at one of the first and largest of the indoor waterparks with my children many years ago. This area attracted the younger children and it consisted of many activities but the main one was a huge water bucket on top of a tower. Bells would go off on a regular basis announcing that the bucket was going to dump the water. As soon as the bell sounded the children ran to stand underneath where the bucket was to dump the water.
One of my children was extremely young and I had not seen what happened in this area until it was happening. As I observed the hundreds if not thousands of pounds of water pressure coming toward my child I ran and took the brunt of the pressure on my back. My child was unharmed but my back hurt for days! My child may have withstood the crushing blow of the water but I will never know because I did not let her play underneath that bucket again.
I cannot imagine that this is safe practice for young children. However, I did not want to take the risk and you should not either if you feel uncomfortable at all with any of the activities in either an indoor or outdoor waterpark or an amusement park for that matter.
Sometimes, the attendants are not paying attention and are not protecting the customers. Go-kart rides are one example. Many times, they direct go-karts into the staging area when there are people in the staging area who are not ready for the cars to come in. Crashes happen and people are injured.
Many of the waterslides themselves can be dangerous if the rules are not followed and even in those situations the rules may not be enforced for others which could cause injury to you.
Waterparks and amusement parks are great fun but with all activities caution must be practiced. Even then, accidents happen because of improper design, failure to protect and to warn and failure to supervise others. In those situations the parks are responsible for those injuries.
If you, a friend or family member have been injured at any of the amusement or waterparks in the Dells area please contact me for a no cost, no obligation consultation. I take these cases on a contingency fee basis which means there are never any fees unless and until we recover. I have been representing victims injured by the negligence of others for more than 28 years and would be glad to help you with your injured claim.
Please feel free to contact me in the Madison area at (608) 824-9540, in the Dells area call our Baraboo office at (608) 356-3961 or statewide at (866) 455-2993.
- What You Need to Know About SECURE Act 2.0 - March 30, 2023
- Show Your Love by Creating an Estate Plan - March 15, 2023
- What Happens When You Don’t Trust Your Trustee – Part II - March 7, 2023
By Appointment Only
All Mail Should be Directed to the Middleton Address