A jury has awarded $550,000 to two teenage girls who endured nearly 30 minutes suspended upside down when an amusement park ride in Oregon experienced a malfunction.
This week, the jury delivered a 10-2 verdict, granting each teen $275,000 in their legal action against Oaks Park and Zamperla, the ride's manufacturer. The case revolved around the June 2023 malfunction of the AtmosFEAR ride in Portland.
Ride Malfunction and Rescue Efforts
The incident on June 14, 2023, saw approximately 30 riders become stranded in an inverted position when the spinning pendulum-style AtmosFEAR ride became stuck vertically.
Emergency crews from Portland Fire & Rescue swiftly responded to the scene. Collaborating with park engineers, they managed to manually lower the ride. All riders were brought down safely after an estimated 25 minutes and subsequently underwent medical evaluations.
Following the verdict, Oaks Park issued a statement:
"While we agree that the ride should not have become stuck, we are grateful that all of the riders are safe, and this incident is now resolved. Safety is our top priority, and we will continue to work with ride manufacturers and state inspectors to ensure rider safety."
Family Seeks Accountability for Safety Lapses
The family of one of the affected teenagers, identified as Evie, spoke out on Thursday, emphasizing that the lawsuit aimed to establish accountability for the incident. They specifically pointed to what they described as a lack of a clear safety plan at Oaks Park.
"We filed this lawsuit to seek accountability and justice. Not only should the ride have never malfunctioned, but the crisis was further exacerbated by the lack of a safety plan at Oaks Park. They did not possess any knowledge of how to fix the ride if it got stuck in the inverted position, and did not have a tool at the park to lower the ride and rescue the riders. That required calling a 1-800 number to even know how to fix the ride, then wait for first responders to arrive on scene, and for the first responders to provide the tool. Additionally, Oaks Park evacuated the park without providing traffic control, which delayed first responders from being able to enter the park quickly in an emergency, prolonging suffering."
The malfunction occurred on the park's inaugural day of its summer season. Videos captured during the incident depicted riders hanging vertically as onlookers gathered below.