| Comments |
bk2004
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 7743
View Park/Ride Count
|
Oh...I'm sure there will be some big upset at Magic Springs now that the state has officially blamed it on them.
|
| 8/19/2006 12:40 AM |
|
mmb088
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 160
View Park/Ride Count
|
And of course when the ride op denies access to a person based on weight, there will be a lawyer happy to serve the park some papers, based on discrimination.
Some people just need to put the twinkies down.
|
| 8/19/2006 1:17 AM |
|
I love DW
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2063
View Park/Ride Count
|
^Ain't that the truth.
But I still feal sorry for the lady.
|
| 8/19/2006 1:44 AM |
|
Steven
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 7717
View Park/Ride Count
|
Actually, overweight people don't have much of a base for any lawsuit, especially when the ride manufacturer and the park can provide documentation that it was not designed for people of excess weight. Plus, if you design a ride for bigger people, you might have a harder time including your more average people, including the 48-54 inch child crowd. They could easily slip out of a restraint designed for larger people.
It's a very common practice to deny access to a ride based on weight. Just look at Cedar Point... people of excess size can't ride several of their rides. Take a look at their section on restraint systems and weight limits on rides...
http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/par...ride_policy.cfm
Cedar Point is required not only by the ride manufacturer, but also the state of Ohio to enforce these limits. So, Cedar Point is pretty much immune to any lawsuit based on this policy.
So, with that, I'm with the state on this one. The op was totally out of his mind for allowing such a guest to sit the way she did. The most she can try to do (if they'll let her) is sue the park for letting her on in the first place.
|
| 8/19/2006 7:22 AM |
|
MrMike
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 29
View Park/Ride Count
|
The State of Ohio requires all amusement parks to put into effect any recommendation and manufaturer has for a ride. This is where the problem came with Cedar Point. Intamin recommended that the seat belts be shortened, and Cedar Point had to do it.
|
| 8/19/2006 10:10 AM |
|
The Gent
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 97
View Park/Ride Count
|
I weigh 270 pounds - and I agree with the limitations. I can't ride in the last seat on Colossus @ SFMM. Remember that many years ago a woman described as being built like a "bowling ball" had the lapbelt give way and she fell to her death.
I can or can't ride Batman - it takes two operators to push and lock the harness. Once it locks I'm fine. But if after two tries it doesn't lock - I tell my wife to have a good ride and get off. (This is her favorite - she has a bad leg so she can't ride any ride requiring her to bend her leg to 90 degrees. She can ride all Arrow built coasters - but very few Intamin ones.)
On the subject of ride operators - I wanted to deck an operator at Santa Cruz a few years ago. We were riding the
Hurricane - a small Schwartzkoff style coaster - and as we got off my wife got caught due to her leg. She was half in the car, half out. The operator wasn't watching - he was talking to a friend - and started to move the car forward. I caught her and yelled at him. I know he was going on a rhythm count (1,2,3,4, move), but no excuse. Talk about wanting to beat the (CENSORED) out of somebody.....
|
| 8/19/2006 11:24 AM |
|
coastrfreak2000
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 788
View Park/Ride Count
|
When I first read the story weeks ago about a woman falling from this coaster at Magic Springs my comment was "I doubt she was sitting properly otherwise she wouldn't have fallen". And look what happened, she wasn't.
|
| 8/19/2006 11:30 AM |
|
Wes
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 11378
View Park/Ride Count
|
How stupid can the op be to let her sit sideways.
This isn't an Alvey video we're talking about here. ;) lol
|
| 8/19/2006 9:25 PM |
|
I love DW
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2063
View Park/Ride Count
|
I agree why would the operator be that stupid. I think the operator definetly needs to be fired. Or at least moved somewhere were there is no rules for them to inforce.
|
| 8/19/2006 9:40 PM |
|
mmb088
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 160
View Park/Ride Count
|
Steven-In terms of a lawsuit in most cases I know they don't, in terms of this magic springs incident, if they didn't hire a lawyer I'd be shocked. The problem is very few theme parks want that kind of publicity so even if its their fault or not, they'll settle. Just how it works, but defintely isn't right.
|
| 8/20/2006 11:42 AM |
|
Wes
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 11378
View Park/Ride Count
|
I'm sure the op was probably fired. I've known people fired for less.
|
| 8/20/2006 3:07 PM |
|
Steven
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 7717
View Park/Ride Count
|
I never said there won't be a lawsuit... just said it won't be for discrimination against fat people. However, they might be able to sue for neglect, in which case the park will try to settle for sure.
|
| 8/20/2006 6:54 PM |
|
PANTSFREE
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1428
View Park/Ride Count
|
She was DEFFINATELY fired, atleast she better have been. When working at an amusement park you can be fired for not being dressed appropriately... The ride-op was extremely neglegant, you are told the safe and proper way to operate the ride, and you turn away those who are not allowed. On the rides I operated at SFA (including Two Face, Wild One, and Tower of Doom). We were told the proper heights, both maximum and minimum, if people could ride with casts, etc. Te op shouldn't have allowed the woman to ride.
|
| 8/20/2006 6:56 PM |
|
mmb088
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 160
View Park/Ride Count
|
And I said there could of been a discrimination lawsuit if she wasnt allowed. Not in this particular case though.
|
| 8/21/2006 2:20 PM |
|
More about News
Aug. 19th, 2006 -- A July 29 accident on the Twist n' Shout roller coaster at Magic Springs could have been prevented had a ride operator not allowed an "extremely large" woman from riding, an inspector from the Arkansas Labor Department says.