15 people who were riders stuck upside-down on the Demon at SF Great America have been awarded a total of $450,000. On April 18, 1998, the ride came to a sudden stop on the first loop, leaving riders dangling for nearly three hours. The largest single award, $125,000, was given to a man who who claimed to suffer a shoulder injury, while trying to keep his 8-year-old son---who suffers from cerebral palsy---from falling out of the restraints. (SFGA management was also criticized by the plaintiffs for not summoning the fire department rescue squad until twenty minutes after the stall.)
The stoppage was caused by a missing cotter pin, allowing a wheel to fall off. The axle then jammed into the track.
I don't know if anything this scary ever happened at CP. I know trains have failed to make a hill, but I believe everyone remained upright.
Let's see... an average of $30K for three hours of being stuck?
Sign me up!
(God, I hate that we've become the litigation nation)
No, we are not that lucky at Cedar Point. They actually keep up on their maintenance.
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:) "Did you know this goes up-side down" :)
I personally don't have a problem with what happened in this particular situation. I usually don't agree with all the lawsuits we have in this country, but in this case I do. I would be extremely angry if something like this happened to me as a result of a lack of proper maintenance, and I would want to be compensated for the situation. I would be very scared if I got stuck upside down even though I'm not afraid of it while I'm in motion on a properly working ride. Also, just think if you had a small child with you who was scared to death about something like this. It would be awful. Not only that, but the only way to really teach a big corporation like that a lesson is to sue them and get as many compensatory and punitive damages as possible so that they will take a hit where it hurts most. Hopefully Six Flags will learn from this and have a better maintenance record in the future.
Remember, this was the first operating day of the season. I don't know for certain, but it is a pretty good guess (particularly given the modification that has appeared on Arrow looping trains since the incident) that the castle nut backed off of the pivot spindle at the last axle on the train. I suspect it wasn't a maintenance fault so much as an assembly fault when the train was put back together after off-season overhaul.
My guess is that the delay in calling the fire department was because the park was busily trying to concoct an evacuation procedure of their own. At Kentucky Kingdom, park operators learned the hard way that once the fire department shows up, the park is no longer in command of the situation. When T^2 jammed on the lift hill, a rescue that the park could have handled in a half-hour took three hours once the fire department showed up...
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Muckmack, personally I think people in a situation like this deserve some compensation. At the very least they need to be "made whole"...that is, if they sustained injuries, the injuries should be taken care of; they were inconvenienced and that should be dealt with as well. But the park has an obligation to attempt an equitable settlement. From the news reports it sounds almost like Six Flags basically blew off the riders and said, "Sue us. We dare you."
Hmmm...I'm trying to remember the chronology. Wasn't this still pre-Premier Six Flags?
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Premier bought Six Flags 100% April 1, 1998. The incident was April 18, 1998. How's that for getting started off on the wrong foot.
jeremy
Freaky says
No, we are not that lucky at Cedar Point. They actually keep up on their maintenance.
It has nothing to do with maintenance and dont think this is an SF thing. It was an unfortunate accident. SFGAm is very strict on their safety record.
Another Fine example of Six Flags, PR. Sorry about your arm and your kids almost dying, here is a coke, and come back tomorrow to ride the Demon.
I would be P O'd too if that's all they offered my kids and me. These kids are scared for life and will probably never ride another coaster, which is one of the finer point's in life. This decision was not really about ride maintenance, but what the should have been awarded from the get go. Freaky things do happen and a park should be willing to dish out even though it may not be their fault. It comes with the business
I like how CP handled the corkscrew incident. If I remember correctly, they got free shirts, line-jumping passes, and maybe tickets. All this for having a little grease splattered on your cloths and having to walk down some stairs. It sure beats the free Coke that SFGA offered them for being stuck upside down for 3 hours in an ARROW OTSR (OUCH).
The only instance in were an OTSR restraint can be used.
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Joe E