Old Orchard Beach amusement park faces lawsuit over child’s 2022 injury
The Super Star ride at Palace Playland in Old Orchard Beach is seen in July 2022, directly after a child was injured by the ride. A lawsuit filed Friday in York County Superior Court alleges those injuries happened because of negligence by the amusement park. (Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer)
A Florida man is suing Palace Playland in Old Orchard Beach, alleging that the amusement park’s negligence led his child to be injured by a ride in 2022.
Walter Mercer, of Bonifay, Florida, filed the civil lawsuit in York County Superior Court on Friday.
In the lawsuit, Mercer says his son, who was 10 at the time and identified in the complaint by his initials, was injured on July 16, 2022, after a ride attendant at the Super Star ride failed to properly secure his safety restraint.
The Super Star — which has been a feature of Palace Playland since 1979 — features three arms, each with seven gondolas. When the ride begins, the central column spins one way, while the stars at the end of each arm are raised in the air and rotate the other way. The restraints on each car include a metal lap bar and a rope to keep it in place.
The lawsuit accuses Palace Playland of failing to ensure the boy was properly restrained before the ride began and failing to properly train, supervise and monitor its ride attendants. The complaint also alleges that the park did not provide proper oversight of rides or promptly preserve and provide evidence from the 2022 incident.
On the night of the incident, the boy started slipping from his seat as the ride began, the complaint says. Mercer noticed and called for a ride attendant to stop the ride, but his son’s car was already moving.
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In an attempt to get off the ride before it started to go faster and higher, the boy jumped from his seat, landing on the metal platform below. He was then hit multiple times by ride cars before the ride was stopped, causing him to suffer a 2-inch cut to the head, a broken nose, and significant pain and bruising down his right side. Photos included in the complaint show the boy’s blood spattered across the ride and the extent of his injuries.
Mercer says he feared his son would be killed and alleges that the park’s negligence caused him to suffer substantial emotional distress from watching the incident and being unable to help his son.
Paul Carney, who owns a nearby T-shirt business, saw first responders carry the boy to an ambulance.
“It looked like he just stepped off the set of ‘The Walking Dead,’” Carney said at the time.
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Boy, 10, injured on ride at Old Orchard Beach amusement park
The state fire marshal investigated the incident and found that it took 23 seconds for the ride operator to stop the ride and reach the boy, according to the complaint. The investigator also reviewed security camera footage and inspected the ride.
“The ride operator did not ensure that all passengers on the ride were properly secured onto the ride prior to the start of the ride,” the investigator concluded.
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According to the complaint, Palace Playland did not keep the Super Star operator onsite for an interview after the event, did not provide incident reports, and declined to immediately provide security footage of the incident.
The park did not respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit Monday.
The Mercers are seeking a jury trial and compensation for medical expenses, physical pain, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and fear of serious bodily injury or death.
“The harm did not end when the machinery stopped,” lawyer Peter Richard, who is representing the Mercers, wrote in the complaint. “This lawsuit asks Palace Playland to answer for the full human consequences that flowed from starting the ride before this child was properly secured, and to help ensure that no other family is placed in the same danger.”
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Tagged: florida, lawsuits, york county Maine
Sydney is a community reporter for Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel and previously reporter for the Courier and Post. Sydney grew up in Kennebunk and is a graduate. More by Sydney Richelieu
