Maison Law represents haunted house injury victims in California. If you or a loved one has been injured in a haunted house, the personal injury lawyers at Maison Law are here to pursue full compensation for your damages. Contact Maison Law today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
Do I Need a Lawyer for a Haunted House Halloween Injury in California?
With haunted houses being a staple of the Halloween season, everyone from local communities to amusement parks attempts to create the scariest environment for their guests. But as fun as haunted houses can be, they can also be just as dangerous. Unfortunately, there are no federal regulations for haunted houses, allowing some of the most inexperienced haunted house creators to invite guests over without adhering to safety guidelines. As a result, injuries are a fairly common thing within haunted houses, making Halloween truly the scariest time of year.
Regardless of experience, haunted house operators have a responsibility to maintain a safe environment just like any other business owner. Under premises liability law, they have a duty of care towards their patrons, which means they must take reasonable action to prevent hazards or foreseeably dangerous conditions. This is covered in California’s Civil Code 1714(a), which states:
“Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself.”
If you were injured in a haunted house due to a premises liability, it is advisable to discuss the incident with an attorney to see if a lawsuit is necessary. If you have a claim, it will be the job of the attorney to prove the property owner was responsible for creating a premise liability by establishing the following:
- The property owner allowed a hazardous condition to exist on their property
- The property owner knew, through the exercise of reasonable care, that this condition existed
- The property owner failed to repair the hazard or warn others about the condition
Can I File a Lawsuit Against a Haunted House if I Signed a Liability Waiver?
“Assumption of risk” liability protects business and property owners from lawsuits when their customers participate in risky activities. Liability waivers puts those protections into words. It spells out the activities and acts customers may injure themselves performing when in a haunted house. This removes the business from liability. However, liability is not a legal “bullet-proof” shield against lawsuits. Otherwise, property owners would be permitted to free themselves of liability just by using the right verbiage in their liability waiver. A liability waiver can be invalidated if:
- The haunted house violates California or federal law
- The terms of the contract are unethical, or morally wrong
- The haunted house owner used fraud, or misrepresentation to get you to sign the waiver
- You signed the contract under duress
- You were injured due to gross negligence – when someone was injured intentionally, or an obvious danger was ignored and caused someone harm.
A liability waiver, however, does protect business owners from ordinary negligence. So, it is important to understand what you are signing before you go into a haunted house and know what you are responsible for. We recommend the following precautions before you decide to sign any waiver of liability:
- Research online for lawsuits and safety violations for that particular haunted house
- Obey the “safety rules”
- Check with the haunted house management to see if they have accident insurance for their participants
- Make sure you have active health insurance
Who is Liable for a Haunted House Injury in California?
If you were injured due to a hazardous condition or a careless action in a haunted house, there may be multiple liable parties. This could even include an intoxicated person who was pushing people in the haunted house, causing you to fall and hurt yourself. The typical liable parties in haunted houses include:
- Haunted house employees
- The Haunted House company
- Property Owners
- Contracted actors
- Other haunted house participants
- Equipment manufacturers
- Third parties in charge of repairing and maintaining the safety of the haunted house
In most situations, the property owner will be held responsible because it is their responsibility to keep the premises safe. According to California Premise Liability Law, the haunted house property owner has a duty to:
- Maintain the property
- Inspect the property for hazardous conditions
- Repair potentially dangerous conditions
- Warn participants of any existing hazards
How Much Compensation Can You Receive for a Haunted House Injury in California?
There is no average compensation for haunted house injuries. The result of every lawsuit varies on a case-to-case basis, so, it is difficult to determine the value of every case. However, certain factors can potentially increase your amount of compensation:
- The severity and permanence of your injuries
- The percentage of blame assigned to you in the accident (ranges anywhere from 1% – 99%)
- Your age at the time of the accident
- Your education level and occupation
- Loss of enjoyment you’ve suffered due to injuries or mental trauma sustained from the accident
- Loss of earnings
- Future and present medical treatments
Payouts for haunted house injury victims tend to be higher for those represented by an attorney than those who were not. Your best course of action to recover damages from a haunted house is to speak with an experienced accident attorney about the details of your case.
Contact a Haunted House Injury Lawyer in California
If you or a loved one have been injured due to a careless haunted house employee or a premises liability, the personal injury attorneys at Maison Law are here to help you get the compensation you need. Our team will analyze your case and review any liability waiver to determine the best path toward achieving successful results for your case. We offer all victims and their family members a free, no-risk consultation. No upfront money is required for our legal services and we only get paid if we win your case. Contact Maison Law today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
