Landmark Adventure Park is being sued after two young girls were injured when a rollercoaster derailed at the popular attraction.
Families of the girls have spoken out following the incident in August 2021 – and say they hope that court action against park bosses, Visitor Centres Ltd, will reveal what went wrong and will help improve the safety of other parks.
The organisation told The Press and Journal today that it was “surprised” to be included in legal proceedings, and say they were let down by an unnamed rollercoaster maintenance company.
Digby Brown Solicitors is representing the families affected and said there is “available evidence to show there were gaps in the safety process”.
Partner Mairi Day said: “It is only right that those responsible are held to account.”
Father thought daughter was ‘going to die’
Previously, the P&J reported how theme park goers heard a ‘massive bang’ after the crash on August 12 three years ago.
Police, fire and ambulance crews were called to the attraction near Carrbridge when the “family friendly” Runaway Timber Train crashed with 24 people on board.
In 2022, it was then confirmed that the rollercoaster would not open again.
Speaking for the first time, the worried father of one of the girls recalled the trauma of only being able to watch as he saw his daughter caught up in the derailment.
The dad, who is not being named, said: “Me and the other parents could only look and shout as we saw our girls bashed around and thrown about while stuck inside the carriage.
“After about 30 seconds it all stopped with the carriage sort of hanging off the side.
“We could see our daughters were terrified and in pain but there was nothing we could do while they were trapped there.
“I genuinely thought my girl was going to die.”
Girls suffer from anxiety symptoms and flashbacks
Digby Brown says medics conducted x-rays on the girls which confirmed they suffered significant whiplash injuries.
Both girls, who are from the Scottish Borders, made a physical recovery but still experience anxiety symptoms and flashbacks, the company says.
The mother of the second injured girl added: “It was terrifying to feel so helpless when you know your child is in distress – I still feel that pain and anxiety today.
“Our sincere thanks go to the emergency workers and medical staff who cared for our children that day.
“The theme park told us nothing afterwards and neither has the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
“Here we are, three years later, and we are still being ignored – it’s all ludicrous and, frankly, does little to inspire trust or confidence.”
A HSE spokesperson said today: “Our sympathies are with anyone involved in incidents of this nature.
“We carried out a thorough criminal investigation which has now concluded. The threshold for prosecution is extremely high, and was not met on this occasion.
“We took enforcement action against another company relating to the testing of the ride.”
Rollercoaster received safety alert seven years before crash
Digby Brown Solicitors say that Landmark Adventure Park bosses deny liability and instead argue that the rollercoaster maintenance company is to blame.
Court papers allege the park received a safety alert seven years earlier in February 2014 from the manufacturer of the rollercoaster, when a potential crack in the main support shaft connected to the wheels was spotted following previous incidents in England and India.
Digby Brown say that there is no evidence of the park acting on this warning.
However, Visitor Centres Ltd insists it “acted” swiftly following the safety alert being issued.
A spokesperson for the organisation said: “The park passed the industry safety alert to the specialist contractor who confirmed that the annual Non Destructive Testing (NDT) testing which had already taken place that year was sufficient, and no additional action was required.”
They explained that NDT testing is a legal requirement which must be carried out every 12 months in accordance with industry guidance.
“This is a specialist process which is carried out by an independent contractor, who must be approved by the industry body. The contractor we used came highly recommended by our industry body,” they added.
The spokesperson said that they “very much regret this incident occurred”.
They reiterated that the HSE investigation resulted in no enforcement action, and that they carried out their own investigation.
They said it confirmed that the defect which contributed to the accident should “been detected by a specialist contractor” during an annual inspection.
Landmark will ‘robustly defend’ themselves
They said: “We provided an independent expert report to Digby Brown in December 2022 confirming the outcome of our investigation. We have heard nothing further from Digby Brown subsequently and are therefore surprised to be included in the court action which we will robustly defend.
“We note that Digby Brown have also raised court action against the specialist contractor.
“We were not placed under any restrictions regarding the operation of the rollercoaster following the accident. However, we made the decision not to operate the rollercoaster on our site following the accident and it is no longer on site.”
Conversation