In June, Dawn Jankovic died after losing consciousness on The Voyage roller coaster at Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari in Indiana. The 47-year-old Ohio woman was unresponsive when the coaster returned to the station. A coroner’s report released in July states Jankovic died from severe internal blood loss, a torn artery, and force from the roller coaster.

No one likes to think about it, but amusement parks account for thousands of injuries each year. Unfortunately, some die from these injuries. If you or a loved one have suffered injuries at an amusement park, reach out to the Pittsburgh amusement park accident attorneys at Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman P.C.

A tragic ride

Once Dawn Jankovic was found unconscious on the wooden roller coaster, Holiday World emergency medical technicians treated her before an ambulance transported her to Memorial Hospital in Jasper, where she died.

In the coroner’s autopsy report, Jankovic’s official cause of death was listed as exsanguination and avulsion of the right internal thoracic artery. The roller coaster’s force caused an avulsion of the right internal thoracic artery. Put simply, she had “severe blood loss internally.”

Jankovic’s 17-year-old son Gunnar Merker was with her. They were part of the coaster community, a group of roller coaster enthusiasts. The two bonded over coasters, traveled to different parks, riding every coaster they could find.

“She loved going to different places, parks, and all that,” Gunnar told the press. He added that before her sudden death, she was “fine the whole entire day.”

A spokesperson for the amusement park offered a press release on the day Jankovic died, stating, “A full inspection of the roller coaster has been performed, and it was determined that the ride operated as it was intended to.”

They closed the ride for the rest of the day out of respect for the deceased and her family.

To bring Jankovic home and give her a proper funeral, a GoFundMe page was created. The campaign’s initial goal was $4,000. They ended up raising more than $13,000.

It is usually assumed that injuries occurring at amusement parks and on fixed-site rides like roller coasters are often underreported. In a 2018 report, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) found the likelihood of dying on a roller coaster is roughly one in 16 million.

Even though the odds are low, it does not mean they are not equally tragic.

When should I contact a lawyer?

According to reports from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), about 335 million Americans visit amusement parks yearly. These visits account for approximately 30,000 injuries. These numbers are most likely an underestimation of the true statistics because reporting requirements and regulations differ from state to state.

Our skilled and experienced team looks forward to working on your behalf, investigating your case, guiding you through the claim to ultimately securing the compensation you deserve. If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence of another party at an amusement park, contact the Pittsburgh premises liability attorneys at Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman P.C. for a free consultation by clicking here or calling 888-988-9467.

Property owners have a responsibility to ensure that their premises are safe for those who have a right to be there. In general, a property owner will not be held liable for any injuries that happen to trespassers on their premises. However, that may not be the case if a child is injured, regardless of whether or not they were trespassing at the time they were harmed. Property owners need to be aware of attractive nuisance laws in Pennsylvania and what happens if they fail to properly secure certain aspects of their premises.

As summer heats up, understand attractive nuisance laws in Pittsburgh

Most people have a pretty good understanding that property owners can be held liable if their negligence causes injuries to those who have a right to be on their premises. However, what happens if someone is injured on your property after they were trespassing? In these cases, the property owner generally owes no duty of care to a trespasser, and will therefore not be liable for damages. However, there are exceptions for injuries that happen to children who have been “attracted” to something on the property and are subsequently injured.

Attractive nuisance laws in Pennsylvania require that property owners keep their property free from conditions that might attract children and cause injuries. A common example of attractive nuisance laws is pooling. Property owners are required to ensure that children cannot wander onto the property, get into the pool, and drown. This typically requires the property owner to build a fence with a locking gate around the pool.

However, there are other hazards that could cause harm the property owners may not think of. This includes trampolines, playground equipment, holes dug in the ground, mounds of dirt, construction materials, and more.

Ask the summer kicks into full gear here in Pittsburgh, property owners must take steps to prevent children from getting injured on their property. Regularly inspect and maintain your premises and quickly remedy any potential hazards. While the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected our ability to work and enjoy everyday activities, you can be sure that there will still be plenty of children around your neighborhood wandering and looking for something to do. Don’t let your property become a potential liability.

Our premises liability team is ready to help

If you or somebody you care about has been injured due to the careless or negligent actions of a property owner in Pittsburgh, contact an attorney as soon as possible. At Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman, our skilled and experienced team is going to stand by your side, investigate the incident, and work to secure any compensation you are entitled to. This could include coverage of your medical bills, lost wages, any household out-of-pocket expenses, pain and suffering damages, and more. If you need a Pittsburgh premises liability attorney, you can contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling 888-988-9467.

On the outside looking in, trampoline parks look incredibly fun. In most cases, kids cannot wait to get in and jump around. Over the last few years, trampoline parks have become popular in Pennsylvania, especially for group parties and events, but one local news story highlights the dangers that these parks have posted in our area.
At Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman, we know that you do everything you can to keep your kids safe. However, there may be times with another person or company’s negligence causes your child harm. If that happens and you need a Pittsburgh premises liability attorney, call us today so we can work on securing the compensation you deserve for all of your incident-related expenses.

What Can Happen Here?

You have probably seen what trampoline parks look like. Nearly every square inch of a large room is covered with various trampolines of various sizes. There are ads everywhere for when kids miss the mark and fall. Looking in, they seem safe. However, an analysis of the injuries at local parks shows just how much of a problem they can be.
Some common injuries include:

• Knee injuries
• Neck injuries
• Broken arms
• Broken legs
• Dislocated knees

One woman says that her 4-year-old broke his leg at a trampoline park and was left in a cast from his hip to his toes. “I don’t want to see any other child go through what my child went through,” she said. Her family has filed a lawsuit against the park. The attorney handling the lawsuit points out that these cases can be complicated.

• Most people sign waivers before using the facility that acknowledges that they understand there are risks involved.

However, signing a waiver does not mean that a trampoline park owner is absolved of all responsibility, especially if injuries are caused by something the property owner did or not do.

• Was the lighting adequate?
• Was there enough staff on hand to monitor the room?
• When was the equipment last inspected?
• Did staff properly warn patrons of the risks?

These are just some of the questions that will be examined when determining whether or not property owners can be held liable for injuries.

Injuries like the ones listed above can become expensive to treat and they can cause emotional and psychological damage, especially for children who experience them.

Moving Forward From Here

We know that most injuries that happen to our children are unexpected and most of the time accidental. However, when another person or company is negligent in their duties and causes harm, they need to be held responsible. At Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman, we want to help if you need a Pittsburgh premises liability attorney. Our knowledgeable and experienced team will work diligently to secure compensation for:

• All incident-related medical expenses
• Pain and suffering damages
• Loss of enjoyment of life damages
• Punitive damages

While you focus on being with your family, we will handle insurance companies and other parties involved. You can contact us for a free consultation by calling at 888-98-TWINS(89467).

Stop for a minute and think about all the places you go during the week:

• Your kids’ school
• The playground
• Grocery stores
• The bank
• Pharmacy
• Your office
• The library

When you go somewhere, the last thing you expect is to encounter an unsafe situation that will cause you or your family harm. You expect that the property owners or the people in charge of a location will maintain a safe environment.

If you do get injured, does that mean you will be able to collect a settlement?

Maybe, but it is not guaranteed.

If you need a Pittsburgh premises liability attorney, you can count on the team at Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman to help you through the process.

What Are Some Factors?

When it comes to a premises liability case, you need to know that the property owner facing the lawsuit is going to fight the claim. They will secure an attorney because they do not want to pay a large settlement.

If a property owner has allowed for a situation that is inherently dangerous, more so than one would ever reasonably ever expect to be allowed, they could face a strict liability claim. When this happens, a person would not even have to prove that the owner breached their duty to care for the injured. An example of this could be if an amusement park operator did not have required guardrails around a fast-moving ride and a child wandered too close to it and got injured. The amusement ride owner would already be breaking the law for not having the required guardrails, to begin with.

Many times, a person will end up with some type of negligence case against a property owner. For instance, let’s use one of the most common types of premises liability cases for example – a slip and fall incident. If you enter a store and slip on an un-mopped spill and find out that the employees had known about the spill for more than 20 minutes, they may very well have breached their duty to provide and maintain a safe environment. They failed to remedy the situation and this caused you harm.

However, there are times when comparative negligence models will be used if it is believed that you were partly to blame for the injury. Back to the slip and fall example, let’s say you were texting or watching a video and barely took your eyes off the phone before you slipped and fell. In this case, it may be found that you were 30% to blame for the injury and the store was 70% to blame. The settlement will be paid out based on that.

What You Can Do Now

If you or a loved one have been harmed on another person’s property and you think someone else is to blame, seek legal assistance. At Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman, we understand that these cases can become complicated and difficult for a person to navigate without an attorney. Our team will work diligently to secure the compensation you deserve.

You can contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling 888-98-TWINS(89467).

When you consider how many places you go on a daily basis, it really is amazing how many people’s hands you put your safety in.

• If you go to the park with your kids, you trust that their maintenance team keeps the swings and other playground equipment well-maintained.
• When you get out of your car, your trust that the parking lot you have to walk across is even and there are no broken curbs.
• At the grocery store, we can be sure that the shelves and store displays are sturdy and will not fall on us.

But what happens if something goes wrong when we are on another person’s property? What if the property owner or their employees do not do their jobs properly?
At Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman, we know that injuries on another person’s premises are common. From slip and fall incidents to faulty equipment, there are many dangers. Today, we want to take you through some basic steps to take if you get injured. When you need a Pittsburgh premises liability attorney, we are here for you.

Steps You Need To Take

To the best of your ability, follow these steps immediately after an injury:

• Call 911 if the injury is serious.
• If it is not a 911 situation, notify store management that you were injured.
• Document the scene if you can. Use a smartphone or other device to take pictures of what caused your injury. If you do not, chances are the area will be cleaned up or fixed as soon as you leave.
• Go to the ER or the doctor as soon as you leave the store. Your injury may not feel serious at the time, but many injuries do not become painful until a bit after they happen. If there is a gap in time between when the injury happened and when you sought treatment, the insurance company of the location you were injured will use this against you, making a claim you were not really injured there.
• Do not speak with any insurance company until you seek legal advice. They will record your statement and seek to gain information that will absolve them of having to pay a settlement.
• Get all documentation related to the incident. This can include copies of all store reports as well as all medical reports.
• Secure an attorney who can walk you through this entire process.

What We Can Do For You

If a property owner’s negligence has caused you or loved one harm, contact Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman today. We want to help you secure the compensation you need for all of your incident-related expenses. We know that you did not expect to be dealing with something like this, so let us help secure:

• Compensation for your medical expenses
• Lost wages if you cannot work
• Pain and suffering damages
• Punitive damages

If you need a premises liability attorney in Pittsburgh, you can contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling 888-98-TWINS(89467).