The fire ball ride
"Without legal recourse, state inspectors don't have any incentive to do their job," he said.
THE FIRE BALL RIDE FREE
On the opening day of the Ohio State Fair in late July, both the state's inspectors and those with a private company hired by the ride's owner checked out the Fire Ball ride, which swings and spins riders seated in carriages.Īn investigation by the State Highway Patrol later said it appeared the ride was approved by state inspectors per established standards.Īttorney Rex Elliott, who represents a 19-year-old woman who was critically injured, criticized the law that he said gives the state "a free pass."
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Since then, the state enacted a law that brings stricter inspections and more oversight of rides. More: Ohio State Fair accident: Victims say state inspectors got 'free pass'Ī Kansas waterslide touted as the world's tallest where a 10-year-old boy was decapitated two summers ago was never inspected by the state because it wasn't required. More: $1.27 million settlement proposed in Ohio State Fair ride death Saferparks, a nonprofit California group seeking to prevent amusement park accidents, says 20 states provide comprehensive oversight while nine states don't have any state agencies that oversee its rides. It's up to each state to set its own regulations and decide how often thrill rides are inspected. The amusement industry has long maintained that inspections should be handled by individual states and has fought against attempts to create national standards. "That's quite a high barrier to show that they were acting maliciously," said Christopher Robinette, who teaches law at Widener University in Pennsylvania and follows ride safety. Immunity from negligence claims means a victim's attorney would need to prove the inspectors intentionally ignored an obvious problem or meant to cause harm. "We want to believe that ride inspectors are properly doing their jobs and that everything has been carefully inspected," he said. Philadelphia attorney Jeffrey Reiff, who has handled and consulted cases involving amusement ride accidents, said immunity statutes put state officials above the law.
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The result is most lawsuits target the ride owners and manufacturers but not the government-employed inspectors - a distinction that some attorneys think should raise questions about how much accountability there is for the people inspecting carnival rides. In what their boss called a vigorous and lengthy review, the veteran inspectors said they didn't notice any cracks, rust or blistered paint where the ride later broke apart.Īttorneys for the family of a teenager killed in the accident and four others left with life-changing injuries believe the inspectors missed obvious warning signs and should share in the blame.īut they won't include the state or its inspectors in any lawsuits or settlements because Ohio, like many other states, gives its ride inspectors immunity from negligence accusations.
![the fire ball ride the fire ball ride](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_6GjTYeW_rc/maxresdefault.jpg)
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - Just hours before a rusted steel arm snapped on a carnival ride and flung passengers onto the ground at the Ohio State Fair last summer, four state inspectors gave the ride a final look.