Man sues Cedar Point for alleged back injuries on Antique Cars

If the antique cars can hurt that bad, then we might as well examine the bumper cars, roller coasters, and any ride that puts a force on us. Welcome to America, land of the frivilous lawsuit and home of the ambulance chasers. Being rear-ended by a 5 mph tinster doesn't constitute whiplash of any kind...unless of course he wasn't seated properly. I mean come on, this is one of the slowest rides in the park. I've been on those antique cars plenty of times, and believe me they ain't fast or forceful...even when you are rear-ended at top speed. This whole thing stinks.

Exactly Thrillerman! The fun in these rides comes from bumping. Not much of a point in driving a car on these rides otherwise...at least not for an adult. Because for an adult it's too much like the real thing...or riding a lawnmower perhaps!

I'm getting really annoyed at the way our society is going. All these things that people now sue over, have existed for multiple decades or even longer. And people got along just fine all these years. The rides haven't changed. If they were safe before, they are safe now. Period.

How can you hold the park responsible for some stupid kid bumping you? There are posted signs that tell you not to bump cars. The kid broke a rule and injured the guy. It is therefore the kids fault, not the park. What the heck is with this damn country.

My toupee got washed off my head while on Thunder Canyon. I am going to sue for my scalp getting wet and for personal embarassment.

$25,000 should do it.

he 'claims' to have $35,000 in medical expenses. Where's the proof?

First off stupid lawsuits are won alot of the time- Not always settled out of court. Second a ride on Magnum or blue streak would have really do more damage than antique cars. Finally to end my mini rant- what happened to working for a living? I have 4 lawsuits this year (1) I got wet on a water ride and (2) My feet hurt from walking all day at the park. (3) I too was bumped on the bumper cars repeatedly. (4) I got dizzy on the orbit.

The true dawn of the frivolous lawsuit was when lawyers won the right to advertise. A lot of people would have never thought to hire a lawyer until they saw some of these ads. And, have you ever noticed how much of this advertising is on daytime TV, when a lot of the people who don't, or won't, work for a living are watching?

And next on our list: Couple is suing 6 flags over emotional distress due to commercial causing rift in family...Wife states: Everytime my kids see those darned commercials, they want us to take them there and we can't afford...Husband states: this has ruined our once mediocre love life...Children state: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!(i hope it never comes to this point... but ya never know...)*** This post was edited by FLYINGSCOOTER 7/24/2004 2:09:54 PM ***
*** This post was edited by FLYINGSCOOTER 7/24/2004 2:12:51 PM ***

Where is John Edwards when you need him? The unfortunate thing is that I don't think Mr. Edwards would take it because it isn't ligit. $25K just isn't enough. Too bad.

Is whiplash (a spine injury) possible from antique cars? Probably. Whiplash has been seen in 5mph auto collisions. That said, the average bumper car impact? 8mph. Cases of whiplash in the literature from bumper cars -- 0.

Whiplash and other 'back and spinal injuries' are often nebulous and poorly understood biomechanically or osteopathically. The resolution of their symptoms is usually based on the emotional state of the subject -- whether they want to be injuried or not; indeed, whether they have anything to gain from being injured or not. This is not to say that whiplash is illegitimate. Whiplash does occur. It can be fatal. It is however, usually not as objectively severe as is often litigated.

Whiplash cases that go to lawsuit are usually more highly scrutinized. In this case, is it possible? Yeah, it's possible. Those are basically wimpy Tin Lizzies. A hit when unexpected could jar you around some. Would it cause $35,000 in injuries? Unlikely, unless you were predisposed to injury somehow or had an existing back condition. Do I think this is overblown? If I had to guess, I'd say yes.

Did anyone notice that the newspaper article says the accident happened on July 26? I might be a little looney, but today is the 25th right? And the article is dated for July 22 right. lol. Maybe this is a bad typo that should've said June on it.

Wolf:

You say that there are no recorded cases of whiplash from antique cars in the literature. What literature are you referring to? There are many such cases (or alleged cases) recorded in state amusement ride accident records. Check the listings for California or New Jersey.

These cars seem to show up a lot for minor spinal injuries. I suspect this is because people ride them who aren't expecting a real impact. People who ride bumper cars expect to get hit and are prepared for it. You see a lot less grey hair on the bumper cars that the anitque cars.

I said there was nothing in the literature for bumper cars. There was a paper that looked at them, but they had reported finding no published cases of injury.

So far as I know, there aren't any for antique cars either -- but I haven't gone looking, either.