Schoolgirl falls from funfair ride, operator prosecuted by HSE

After a young schoolgirl fell from a funfair ride and sustained serious injuries, the ride’s operator has faced prosecution by the Government’s Health and Safety Executive, according to accident claim experts familiar with the case.

The 12 year old girl, who had been at Birmingham’s Starcity Leisure facility enjoying a day out when she was injured, according to her personal injury claims.  The young girl, whose name has not been released to the public due to legal and privacy concerns, had been on a large circular ride called the Tagada which lifts riders into the air as it rotates at speed, when she slipped through the ride’s safety gate and plummeted nearly three metres to the ground.

The girl’s personal injury lawyers state that she sustained a nearly seven centimetre long gash to her shin bone as a result of the tumble.  The injury has been the cause of long-lasting health problems for the girl, they also said.

The HSE investigated the accident, discovering that the safety guard that the girl had slipped through had been missing horizontal rail for several months.  The gap created by the missing rod provided enough space for the girl to slip free of the ride, the HSE said.

Stock Well, Bulwell native Henry Evans, the owner of the ride, was brought before Birmingham Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to health and safety regulation breaches.  Mr Evans was given a £1,000 fine at the hearing as a result of the HSE’s successful prosecution of the ride owner.

It is a necessity to inspect funfair rides every day in order to provide for the safety of its passengers, said one HSE inspector after the court hearing.

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