Crystal Springs Aquatic Facility in East Brunswick, New Jersey promotes itself as the first municipal water park in New Jersey. The park is handicapped accessible and guests taller than 48 inches can enjoy all attractions – save for the kiddie area. To encourage family gatherings Crystal Springs provides a number of chairs, life vests, and picnic areas for free.
Major attractions at Crystal Springs include:
- Blue lagoon – A water-feature attraction designed for young children and adults, alike.
- Bubble Beach – Provides an aquatic area designed for younger children to enjoy.
- Cozy Creek – Cozy Creek is the park’s lazy river. Guests can relax as they enjoy the warm sun and cool water.
- Criss Cross Canal – A true test of strength. Park guests can challenge themselves with crossing the lily pads without falling into the water below.
- Sandpiper’s Cove – Provides a controlled area where individuals can swim laps. 8 lanes are provided.
- Sapphire Bay – Provides a free-form activity area where guests can swim in shallow or deep water.
- Splash Landing – A closed or open tube ride. Guests select which experience they would prefer before enjoying the ride to the splash zone below.
While the park is safe for thousands of people each year, isolated accidents can occur.
Waterparks Risks Factors
Waterparks, on the whole, are perfectly safe for millions of Americans enjoyment. However, there are certain risk factors present in any facility. Guests should be aware of:
- Slippery decks – Wherever large pools exist, cannonballs and splashing will transfer water from the pool to the decks and other surfaces in the area. Guests should take care while walking near pools, slides or other bodies of water.
- Adverse weather conditions – Bad weather can put a damper on summer plans regardless of where you are. Electrical storms can present a particularly pressing risk when people are in the water.
- Mechanical failure – While routine maintenance can reduce the chances of a parts failure, no regimen is foolproof. Mechanical failures can lead to serious injury or even death.
- Guest Actions – Wrongful actions by the park guest can contribute to injury. Guests can fail to follow posted instructions or fail to appreciate the risks of certain rides. Sometimes distractions caused by the day’s excitement can cause a park guest to take risky action.
Unfortunately, the foregoing risks are only a few of the most common. While the vast majority of people enjoy waterparks like Crystal Springs without incident, isolated injuries can occur. These injuries can range from simple scratches and abrasions to serious, and life-altering, injuries. These injuries can include:
- Broken bones – Bones can fracture in certain circumstances. The mechanism of injury can be as simple as falling due to running on a pool deck, or more complex.
- Traumatic brain injury – If a guest becomes disoriented on a water slide, dives into shallow water, or engages in other risky behavior a head injury can occur. Closed-head injuries due to blunt force trauma are more common than penetrating injuries. TBIs can be particularly distressing because the brain is the control center of the body.
- Whiplash – Whiplash is an injury that often occurs to a rapid change in acceleration or deceleration. Whiplash can cause nausea, dizziness, confusion, irritability and other symptoms and signs.
- Drowning – Waterparks provided highly-trained lifeguards to reduce the risk of drowning deaths. However, anytime there is a large body of standing water, minimizing the risk of drowning must be considered.
While other injuries can occur at water parks, the above identifies a few of the most deserving of attention. If you or a loved one have suffered a serious injury or wrongful death at an aquatics park, the experienced attorneys of The Reiff Law Firm may be able to help. For your free and confidential consultation call (215) 709-6940 or contact us online today.
