A @GoPro view of #PGFD Roller Coaster High Angle Rescue in Upper Marlboro @AACoFD… https://t.co/QuPhue6MZ8 via @YouTube
— Mark Brady (@PGFDPIO) April 14, 2017
Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – The 24 people stuck in midair on the Jokers Jinx roller coaster at Six Flags in Upper Marlboro Thursday night have grounds for a lawsuit according attorney Barry Helfand
Nobody was hurt, but people were stuck for between three and four hours before the Prince George’s County Fire Department could rescue them.
“If people are not hurt, it’s not that they’re going to get very very rich, but, in fact, they’re entitled to something,” said Helfand who represented plaintiffs in seven lawsuits after the same roller coaster was stuck in midair in 2014.
Helfand won six of those cases but said each one is being appealed. The seventh is still in Prince George’s County Circuit Court.
Helfand said he doesn’t know how afraid people stuck on the roller coaster Thursday were, but his clients in the lawsuits following the 2014 incident were frightened.
Not only were some people panicked being stuck in midair, but the rescue itself was terrifying.
People had to get up from their seats and be hooked into harnesses before walking along the edge of the roller coaster on a small ledge and then jumping a foot or so into a bucket according to Helfand.
The judge in the cases that are being appealed ruled that people’s fear was enough to warrant damages.
“The more frightening it is, the more that you can convince a judge that it is frightening, the more money it is worth. It’s just that simple,” Helfand said.
If lawsuits are filed as a result of Thursday’s incident, Helfand said the people may get more money because this happened three years ago on the same roller coaster.
He said Six Flags has excellent attorneys who make formidable opponents, but it would be in their best interest to quickly make confidential settlements.
In a statement Six Flags said the Jokers Jinx is temporarily closed for a thorough inspection.
Copyright 2017 WMAL.com All Rights Reserved (Photo: CNN; Video: PG County Fire Via Twitter)
