Carousels, not roller coasters, account for most amusement park injuries

I'm not an expert, but I'd guess that the payout from carousel accidents is quite low. Falling off of a carousel animal probably does not have the same type of payout as the drop tower at Kentucky Kingdom, the double amputee falling out of a coaster at Darien Lake, etc.

Not an expert myself, but the payout amount is typically related to the extent of the injury/ suffering. The girl from the drop tower suffered from being slapped with a failed cable, losing both of her feet. An accident that still sounds horrific. Maintenance was to blame on this. The double amputee veteran who died after being flung from a tall coaster. Both victims had terrible accidents with severe injuries. Similar terrible accidents on carousels? Most unlikely.

You mig be surprised at the horrific things that can happen on a carousel, though. And quite often, "fixes" for one hazard can cause another. How many carousels have safety devices on the horse hangers to prevent the horse from lifting off the crank...safety devices which now insure that if a kid gets underneath the horse he *will* be crushed by it? What was that carousel incident a few years back, where a kid fell from the horse and somehow ended up trapped beneath the elevated, rotating platform? Potentially nasty stuff!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

A fall from any height can be serious, my barber recently ruined his rotator cuff when he fell off the bottom rung of his step ladder. Not good when you're a barber. Or for customers who must remain as handsome as possible at all times. But I digress...
While getting on and off is a safety concern on all rides, I can't think of many besides the carousel that would allow one to fall while it's operating. The giant slide is another one that seems innocent enough, but hides many, many accidents in its history, mainly from friction burns,- but falls happen there too.
This is also the reason a few traditional amusement park attractions just plain no longer exist, or have become so innocuous they're pointless. Take the fun house for example. These days it's just impossible to find a good, old fashioned tumble at the park, isn't it?

My kid's pediatrician had an interesting way of describing falls when he was a newborn. She said a fall from a conventional grocery store shopping cart was probably not going to be that serious. However, a fall from a Costco cart, which is much taller, was really bad news.