Last month 24 fair-goers got on the “Fireball” ride at the Ohio State Fair. The pendulum-based ride started to swing the riders back and forth, when suddenly a row of seats broke free and flew through the air. The passengers were still inside.

A video was posted on YouTube showing the tragic incident. News stations aired the video on television, but they cut the feed just before the row of seats came crashing to the ground. Nevertheless, the terror-ridden riders and their flailing limbs could clearly be seen, with people upside-down in places the shouldn’t have been.

Miraculously, seven of the riders in the row of seats survived, but not without injury. An eighth rider, an 18-year-old who was joining the marines, did not survive. Officials arrived on scene the following week to investigate what happened to cause the tragic and fatal accident. They found that the seats were corroded.

The tragic event hasn’t seemed to dissuade amusement park goers and carnival revelers across the country. It seems that American’s love the thrill and seemingly controlled danger of riding amusement park roller coasters and rides. However, tragic and fatal accidents can happen on these potentially deadly devices at any time. While incidents like the one described above are exceedingly rare, they do happen and no one is 100 percent immune to becoming a victim.

If you or a loved one got hurt on an amusement park ride, you might be able to pursue financial compensation for your injuries in court. A successfully navigated premises liability action relating to amusement park-related injuries could bring victims money to pay for medical care, compensation for pain and suffering, compensation for lost income and other categories of damages depending on the facts of the case.

Source: The Washington Post, “‘It’s fun to be scared’: Life and mortality at the carnival,” Monica Hesse, Aug. 14, 2017