Another incident involving an inflatable slide demonstrates how dangerous they can be when improperly maintained. The video from Shanghai, China starts out happily, with children climbing up and sliding down a giant inflatable slide. Then, a gust of wind catches the slide, and 30 children are suddenly trapped as it overturns! As a result of the incident, 13 children were injured, one of whom was in critical condition with a skull fracture.
Was this accident just part of the slide’s inherent risks? Looking at the video, the answer is clearly “no” because it is obvious the slide was improperly anchored to the ground. And while we would like to think that such an accident could never happen in America, the reality is each year many people are injured on inflatable amusements in this country because there are few safety regulations that require operators to properly maintain them.
The best way to avoid having your own children injured like those in the video is to inspect amusements themselves before allowing children to ride on them. Also, parents should ask amusement operators about their maintenance and safety procedures.
Every day, we at Terrell • Hogan, represent victims of personal injury and wrongful death as they seek justice, and lawsuits we have pursued have prompted safety changes. However, that came after the incidents, accidents and injuries happened. We believe it is important to try to help prevent injuries and wrongful deaths. One way is to publish information about defective and dangerous products.
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