Six Flags may not be held responsible for the death of a teacher who fell from a roller coaster in Georgia, according to legal experts. The revelation has prompted questions about whether the amusement park can demonstrate compliance with necessary state regulations.
Earlier this week, 42-year-old Hassan Kariem lost his life after being thrown from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. Eyewitnesses reported that he was on the ride with his son at the time of the incident, while his wife and daughter were waiting at the base of the attraction. The incident left others injured.
Legal experts weigh in on liability
As officials initiate an inquiry into how the teacher was ejected from the ride, experts suggest Six Flags may not be deemed liable for the incident. "The key question is not just what went wrong, but also if someone knew - or should have known - what could have gone wrong," stated lawyer Daniel Adamson of Dixon-Adamson, a Georgia-based law firm specialising in theme park litigation.
Adamson clarified that investigators will scrutinise every aspect of the ride's design, upkeep, and day-to-day operation as they attempt to determine how the incident transpired. "That's the biggest thing ... was this a preventable tragedy?" he queried. "And did they have any knowledge of [problems]? Were there prior safety complaints? You want to look at the inspection logs, the maintenance records."
State law and duty of care
Adamson stated that if the theme park adhered to local codes and regulations, it would not be held responsible for the man's death. This is due to a 1982 state supreme court case ruling that theme parks have an "ordinary care" duty towards guests, while bus and train operators exercise "extraordinary diligence" towards their passengers.
"When somebody boards a roller coaster, they accept the thrill of the ride, not the risk of being thrown from it," Adamson said, pointing out that the park will need to demonstrate that Kariem accepted the risk of an accident when he got on the ride. "It's really context specific. And you have to look at the facts of each case. ... What reasonable duty of ordinary care has to be considered in the context of the activity?" he added.
Park closures and broader context
Following Monday's incident, Six Flags closed several roller coasters across its amusement parks, including the Goliath, from which Kariem was ejected. These include Nitro in New Jersey; Raging Bull in Illinois; Fury 325 in North Carolina; Leviathan and Behemoth in Canada; Orion and Diamondback in Ohio; and Thunder Striker in North Carolina.
Kariem's family described him as a dedicated teacher who adored his city and bringing families together. Witnesses reported that the man fell from the ride, struck the car, and hit other riders multiple times before landing on the roof of a haunted house attraction situated beneath the coaster.
The event occurred less than a fortnight after Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California announced the retirement of its renowned X2 roller coaster, following lawsuits claiming severe brain injury caused by the ride. The park settled one wrongful-death lawsuit from the family of a 22-year-old man who passed away after riding the coaster in 2022.
Six Flags is not the only amusement park to have recently been embroiled in controversy. Last year, a 32-year-old man died from blunt impact injuries after riding a high-speed roller coaster at the Universal Epic Universe theme park in Florida. His death was deemed accidental.
