Cable Snaps on Slingshot Ride in Panama City Beach
David Di Pietro was asked to appear for an interview on CNN’s HLN TV network broadcast True Crime Live. In this interview, David was asked to provide his legal opinion on a recent incident involving a cable snapping on a slingshot ride at an amusement park. The incident occurred at Cobra Adventure Park in Panama City Beach, Florida.
Luckily, nobody was injured or killed as a result of this malfunction; however, a video of the incident was taken where you can hear reactions from the people that were about to go on this ride. Understandably, they were very shook up as they were very close to an unfortunate fate.
David was asked to provide his legal opinion on the incident. Specifically, on whether or not the amusement park can be held liable in a personal injury lawsuit for incidents such as these. You can learn more about this news story and watch or read the full interview below.
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Video Transcript
Galanos: “Scary moments caught on video just moments before a slingshot ride in an amusement park is said to hurl a couple a guys 100 feet in the air, and then the cord shreds. Watch it. How about that quote “We just dodge death.” Take another look here, take close attention to that left bungee cord as again, it just shreds. This all happened in Panama City Florida. The 2 men spoke about this scary experience to ABC.”
“I was totally in shock the moment the cable snapped, and I was kind of freaked out, with my hands still stuck in the air, not knowing what happened.”
“I was praying to God right after, like “Thank God it didn’t go up. I didn’t know what was going to happen if it did go up.”
Galanos: “I want to give you some context here, what does the ride look like when it works correctly, it looks like that. That’s from a YouTube video, you see a couple of teen girls getting launched in the air, so imagine that bungee cord breaks, then it could have been a real tragedy unfolding here.
Let’s bring in personal injury attorney David Di Pietro, David, thanks for being with us, so bottom line, ride malfunctions like this, who’s responsible?”
David Di Pietro: “Well this is like almost getting in a car accident, so it’s like swerving before you hit a car, and you count your blessings after. There’s gonna be no lawsuit as a result of this, because there was no injury, luckily for them, it was avoided, and it was just a scary incident, I don’t even think it will rise to any emotional distress under Florida law either, so I think they should just count their blessings. It’s like slipping and falling, and not getting hurt.”
Galanos: “Gottca, interesting. You know, this is not the first time a ride like this has malfunctioned. Same situation moments before launch, cord snaps, you know, we have video of that as well, but you’re saying that even though you go through the fear factor, here it is right here by the way, in a separate incident. That one even a little more violent even. No real recourse here for riders for cases like this, is that what you’re saying?”
David Di Pietro: “Yeah, in Florida you would need, for emotional distress, more than just being scared. You’d have to have a physical manifestation of some sort, so more than likely, that’s not going to happen for these two guys. So I think the chance of a lawsuit, or a lawyer taking it is probably not going to happen. I don’t see any cause of action under Florida law to give them any relief, in the state of Florida.
Galanos: “You know, we are seeing these difference scenes, bottom line, everyone’s looking to have a thrill ride, day of fun, make some memories. Is there ways we can protect ourselves in cases like this?”
David Di Pietro: ”People need to be careful at carnivals and carnival rides and other amusement parks that are not like a Disney World. Disney is a big company, if you get hurt, they can pay you, but many of these carnivals, particularly in the state of Florida, I’ve seen they don’t have insurance, and they’re very hard to chase after. And they are fly by night, so people really, consumers, need to attend these carnivals and these rides, and ride on these rides at their own risk, because really if they are hurt, there might be a long shot that they will get any compensation down the road.”
Galanos: “Yeah. Again, thanks David, thanks so much, as again, we’re seeing this pretty scary scene play out there in Panama City. David, thanks again, appreciate it.
David Di Pietro: “Thanks.”
Link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PmIdnr4pqE