A deadly roller coaster accident at Six Flags Over Georgia has prompted fresh scrutiny of amusement-park safety and possible liability as investigators seek to determine why a rider was ejected from an attraction.
The man died Monday while riding Goliath, the park’s tallest roller coaster, which begins with a 200-foot first hill. Police and state ride inspectors are investigating the incident. Six Flags also temporarily shut down nine similar roller coasters at parks across North America, The Associated Press reported.
Mark Lopez-Trigo, a Florida personal injury attorney and founding partner of Padron & Lopez-Trigo, told News Outlet that investigators will likely determine whether the incident was an isolated event or connected to the coaster’s safety equipment, maintenance procedures or inspections.
“What led to this incident, whether it be isolated or system-wide?” Lopez-Trigo said. “Was it a failure in the system itself?”
A fatal roller coaster incident at Six Flags Over Georgia has intensified questions about ride safety and potential liability. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Investigators may review Goliath’s restraint system and determine whether required maintenance and inspections were completed properly before the accident, he said.
“All that’s going to hopefully come out in the next couple days throughout the investigation,” he said.
Lopez-Trigo emphasized that the investigation is still in its early phases and that officials have not yet identified the cause.
The temporary shutdown of similar rides could help investigators focus their inquiries, Lopez-Trigo said, but the closures by themselves do not prove that a wider safety defect exists.
“It tells us where to focus theories of liability,” he said.
Goliath does not send riders upside down. Instead of seat belts, the coaster uses lap bars that secure riders across their legs and waists, according to The Associated Press.
Lopez-Trigo said investigations into alleged restraint or other safety-equipment failures often extend beyond the events immediately before a crash or ejection.
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Goliath does not go upside down and relies on lap bars that pull down across riders’ legs and waists instead of seat belts. (Alamy)
“Usually what it boils down to is, like what I said, some sort of trickle down effect where a certain system either wasn’t maintained properly or wasn’t inspected properly,” he said, speaking generally about cases his firm has handled.
Depending on the circumstances, the victim’s family could pursue a wrongful-death claim through the estate, while guests who were injured could bring separate personal injury claims, Lopez-Trigo said.
Although those claims involve different legal rights and potential damages, the process of determining what happened and whether anyone is responsible would likely follow a similar course, he said.
“While justice might mean different things to the different parties, the path to getting that justice is probably gonna look similar in terms of finding some of the answers as to how this happened,” he said.
The closure of nine comparable coasters highlights the many unanswered questions surrounding the incident, Lopez-Trigo said.
“Six Flags’ decision to temporarily close nine other roller coasters across six parks tells you that the company itself does not yet know what caused this,” he said.
Lopez-Trigo said the decision to close nine similar coasters shows how much remains unknown about the incident. (Alamy)
Determining the cause will be critical not only to potential civil claims but also to identifying whether safety changes are needed, Lopez-Trigo said.
“When we’ve dealt with cases like this in the past, it was always extremely important to find out what happened,” he said, adding that uncovering the facts can help prevent similar incidents.
The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have not announced an official cause.
Six Flags could not immediately be reached by News Outlet for comment.
