What are my legal rights if my child is hurt at a county or state fair?

A teen suffers a brain injury. A bull steps on a child. A toddler falls from a carnival ride. While Texas families look forward to attending county fairs and festivals and the State Fair of Texas each year, children can be seriously harmed, turning a fun family outing into a nightmare.

If your child is hurt at a fair, you have the legal right to hold the responsible parties accountable for your child’s injuries. To give you peace of mind, our experienced Texas child injury lawyers have put together this FAQ to address common concerns and provide straightforward guidance for parents.

How Can My Child Get Hurt at a County or State Fair in Texas?

As we listed above, children get hurt at county fairs and the State Fair of Texas more often than parents realize. At these events, kids can be harmed by:

• Animal encounters: Bites, scratches, or trampling at livestock shows or petting exhibits
• Crowd incidents: Being knocked or trampled due to a lack of attendance management or pedestrian flow
• Foodborne illnesses: Unsafe food handling or unlabeled ingredients, including allergens
• Ride malfunctions: Unmaintained rides that break, stall, have broken restraints, or have operator errors
• Slip, trip, and fall incidents: Uneven walkways, spilled food or drinks, or poorly lit areas, causing fall injuries

Who Can Be Held Responsible for My Child’s Injuries at a Texas Fair?

When a preventable injury happens on private property or at a public place or event like a community or state fair, this is called premises liability. Sometimes, determining liability after your child is hurt can be tricky from a legal standpoint, as there may be multiple failures and parties at a fair that contributed to the incident. Possible parties that can be held accountable include:

• Fair organizers or operators: These individuals are responsible for ensuring the grounds are reasonably safe, hiring qualified vendors, and maintaining security.
• Property owners: If the fair is held on county fairgrounds, a local park, or private property, the owner(s) may share responsibility.
• Ride operators and amusement park companies: If the ride malfunctioned or was improperly operated, liability may rest with the ride company or its employees.
• Third-party contractors: Security companies, cleaning crews, or equipment providers can also be liable if their negligence caused harm.
• Vendors: If your child got food poisoning or slipped near a vendor’s booth, the vendor may be responsible.

When Should I Contact a Lawyer If My Child Was Hurt at a County or State Fair?

It may be helpful to reach out to an experienced Texas child injury lawyer like our team at The Button Law Firm as soon as possible if:

• Your child’s injury was serious enough to require medical treatment
• The fair staff, operators, or vendors aren’t being transparent or cooperative at the scene of the incident by providing you with a copy of the incident report
• You were asked to sign paperwork after the incident
• You feel overwhelmed helping your child heal while dealing with insurance companies
• You want your child’s current, ongoing, and future care from their injuries to be covered by the responsible parties

By taking legal action, your family may be entitled to justice, also known as damages. After the incident that injured your child at a fair, an experienced lawyer like our team will fight for your family to receive results that cover:

• Past and future medical expenses pertaining to your child’s injury
• Therapy or rehabilitation costs
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of normal childhood activities (sports, school, play)

In the tragic case of your child passing away because of the injuries they sustained at a county or state fair, you may be able to file a wrongful death of a child lawsuit. While this will not bring your child back, taking legal action can help hold negligent parties accountable and prevent other children from suffering in the same way.

Even if you are undecided about taking legal action right now, talking to an experienced child injury lawyer early on helps ensure that you don’t miss any key steps and that you avoid doing anything that could harm your case. It also gives you greater peace of mind to know that you’re not alone in your fight to get justice.

What If I Signed a Waiver Before the Fair?

Many fairs and carnival rides in Texas require waivers. Most people initially think that if they sign one, they are not able to take legal action if their child is hurt at the fairgrounds. However, these documents don’t always hold up in court. Texas law generally states that businesses cannot waive gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional harm.

If your child’s injury happened because of poor maintenance, improper training, or unsafe conditions, a waiver may not prevent you from pursuing legal action. Our experienced team of child injury lawyers can review the waiver and explain what it means for your family’s case.

What Should I Do If My Child Gets Hurt at the Fair?

If your child gets seriously hurt at a county or state fair, it is important to know how to act quickly and what to do next so that you can help advocate for your child:

1. Seek Emergency Help: As soon as possible, call 911. Any fall from a ride or incident involving an animal at the fair can cause a brain injury or injury to a child’s internal organs, which may not always be visible. This quick action can save your child’s life and improve their future quality of life. It is important to keep your child’s medical records and receipts for any care they received to treat their injuries.
2. Gather Evidence at the Scene: If you have a smartphone, use it to take photos and videos of the fairgrounds and to capture any ride operators and fair employees who were on duty at the time of the incident. Also, capture any warning signs posted around a ride and any visible safety hazards. In addition, seek out any photos or videos other fairgoers may have taken that captured the incident. It is also a good idea to get the names and phone numbers of bystanders who witnessed your child’s injuries at the fair. Their testimony and account of what happened could help your family get a better grasp of the events leading up to the fair incident and strengthen a future legal case.
3. Request an Incident Report: Request a copy of an incident report from the fair’s operators. It may provide a timeline, the names of the people involved, and the actions that were taken to treat your child’s injuries, if any medical care was provided.
4. Speak with Our Child Injury Lawyers at The Button Law Firm: Our team of experienced and compassionate child injury lawyers is here to listen and help advocate for your family. Call us at 214-699-4409 or email us at intake@buttonlawfirm.com for a free case evaluation. We can help guide you on the potential pathways to get justice for you and your child after a traumatic experience at a county fair or the State Fair of Texas, so that you can decide the best course of action for your family.

Was Your Child Hurt at a County Fair or the State Fair of Texas? Contact The Button Law Firm.

If your child was seriously injured at a county fair or the State Fair of Texas, contact our experienced child injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. With lawyers in Dallas, Houston, and Midland, we are ready to listen, fight for your family, and help your family move forward. Our lawyers at The Button Law Firm are recognized on the prestigious Texas Super Lawyers list, and we can help guide you after a traumatizing incident involving your child. We work on contingency, meaning we don’t charge you or collect any upfront fees to get started on your case. Call us at 214-699-4409, email us at intake@buttonlawfirm.com, or fill out a contact form for a free case evaluation.