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Horrific Injury at Six Flags, Maryland

Six Flags America: On a lovely summer day July 7, 2008 my adult daughter (28 years old) went to Six Flags America in Maryland for a day of fun with some relatives

From Cheryl Greggs
Posted March 4, 2010 at 5:19 PM
On a lovely summer day July 7, 2008 my adult daughter (28 years old) went to Six Flags America in Maryland for a day of fun with some relatives. She just started her day there at Hurricane Harbor water park's Tornado water slide. She was seated with her two cousins in the raft that was released into the funnell of the ride. The raft went airborn and when it landed she was in intense pain she had to continue the rest of ride with what we found out later was a fractured spine. She was unable to get out of the raft and was taken by ambulance to Prince George hospital. She had major surgery which involved cutting her torso in half to get to the vertabrae which was 'splintered'. She was in the hospital for about two week and in a huge brace for several months. She did not have medical insurance and Six Flags refuses to even address this issue. What the public needs to know is that not only is this ride very dangerous but that at this time Six Flags is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is protected against lawsuits. Another words no matter what your injury your chances of compensation are very slim so have no recourse in the event of a serious injury. The most Six Flags has done is offer her a free one day pass. So if anyone has any suggestions or input feel free to e-mail me at Cheryla_greggs@yahoo.com


Comments in chronological order. Most recent at the bottom. Scroll down to respond.

From Mike Gallagher
Posted March 4, 2010 at 5:23 PM
I'm sorry for what happened to your daughter, Cheryl, and I hope she's made a full recovery. I'm always saddened when accidents happen at amusement parks. But all three of my roller coaster calendars say it's 2010. Thanks for posting.

From Anthony Murphy
Posted March 4, 2010 at 5:27 PM
Yeah, it is really terrible that this happened, but it is 2010. The only thing you can do is keep writing to Six Flags or/and fill it out on the safety data link on TPI.

I have been on the Tornado at SFGA's Hurricane Harbor and I was fine on it! Sorry to hear and I hope she is doing better!

From Mark Newman
Posted March 5, 2010 at 11:57 AM
Have you contacted an Attorney on this matter. A good Attorney will sue not only Six Flags, but the ride manufacture, the ride operators, PG County and anyone else affialated with the ride and it's safe operation that day. If you have not contacted an attorney yet, I encourage you to do so immediately. Time to file is running out. While bankruptcy is a defense against a lawsuit, it is not a defense against gross negligence. You need to contact an Attorney who will fight for your daughter's medical bills, pain and suffering.

Good Luck!

From Adam Nodjomian
Posted March 5, 2010 at 8:01 PM
I hope that your daughter was alright, and Six Flags gets all that they deserve.

I too had a an injury, but it was extremely less severe mind you, on a Tornado attraction at a Six Flags. I was visiting Six Flags Fiesta Texas in May 2008, and went on the tornado slide there. I had never done one before and was excited to try it. We flew out into the funnel and as we went up on the side for the first time I felt like i hit something. It hurt around my tail bone and increased in pain as the ride went on. For about an hour, it was very difficult to walk and almost impossible to run for at least a week, which was quite bad considering I'm an active person. I don't know if any else has been injured on tornado rides, I know mine was not very serious as compared to the given one, but it reminded me of it. To this day, I haven't done a Tornado-like again for fear of hurting myself again.

Again I hope your daughter was alright and you are able to work out your problems with whoever is responsible for this accident.

From Peter Stephens
Posted March 6, 2010 at 7:29 AM
How is your daughter now? (The incident you described was over 1 1/2 years ago.) If, for some reason, you have not taken legal action, please do so immediately! The medical expenses for the surgery you describe must be mind-boggling. Your daughter can recover those costs and other damages. If SFA is open and operating, they can be sued! We paid them a visit on Labor Day 2009. The park was in disrepair, but it was open. Honestly (sadly) SFA can no longer compete with other Mid-Atlantic parks. Even their best ride (the Batwing) is badly dated. Anyway, time is of the essence in legal matters. ACT NOW!

From Eli Katzman
Posted March 6, 2010 at 3:25 PM
I'm really sorry, and hope she's made a fine recovery. Do you have an article or anything about it? I don't remember hearing anything about it, so some details could be nice, like how did she get airborne?

From Mike Gallagher
Posted March 6, 2010 at 3:37 PM
I doubt there'd be an article. There are exceptions, but generally speaking, the newsmedia are not gonna jump on a theme park accident unless there is a fatality or mass injuries to a group of people. Injuries happen at parks all the time, we just don't hear about most of them..except on sites like this.

Mike

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