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Original poster

Fell off water slide on holiday?

250 replies

cheekymonk · 11/08/2017 19:05

Hi there. Have just returned from holiday on the Canaries and whilst there visited the obligatory water park. I had been on several slide whilst there, not consumed any alcohol
And had taken regular breaks and had top on to avoid sunburn. Whilst I was riding on a four ring ride with my DH, DS and DD I fell out of my tyre and hurtled out of the slide at speed, banging my head, losing a fair bite of blood and suffering amnesia. The lifeguards were attentive and I was cared for until an ambulance arrived. I was then taken to hospital and had an overnight stay. I was given 6 stitches and on an IV drop as
Not allowed food or food drink due to possible scan the following day(not done). I had an X-ray and was then certified fit to fly by Dr. I had travel insurance and paid the excess.
My query is whether the park was negligent? The attendants kept us waiting at top of slide for approx 10 mins. I am very obese and I think they were unsure about allowing me to ride. However I had been on an identical ride previously and been ok and the wait made me more anxious and weaker as they kept telling me off and to hold on tighter and keep my back straight. I struggled to do this for the time they kept us waiting which was much longer than others.
My head is painful and I feel the holiday was ruined by the experience. Not sure what to do? Any suggestions?

OP posts:
Nicknacky · 11/08/2017 22:18

Why did waiting for the ride to start have such an effect on your grip? The delay would easily have been down to an issue at the bottom of the slide and nothing to do with you or your weight.

Have you been to the GP here?

Popchyk · 11/08/2017 22:18

This happened in Spain so getting into a legal wrangle is likely to be difficult for you. The logistics are such that even if you did want to sue, how much do you think that the no win/no fee merchants here in the UK know about Spanish law?

None of them will take your case which means that you would have to fund it yourself. Which will probably cost a lot of money up front to a solicitor in this country and one in Spain with absolutely no guarantee of any payout.

Just concentrate on getting well.

lljkk · 11/08/2017 22:22

What made OP weak? She said

"the wait made me more anxious and weaker"

I am not getting why waiting around made her weaker. Was it anxiety or not having the muscle strength to hold own body?

I went to a very crowded swimming pool with no lifeguards this afternoon. There was a water slide & diving boards. It was refreshing to see people expected to sort themselves out for safety.

MadMags · 11/08/2017 22:22

I could have held on if not made to wait so long! Why tell me off before ride has begun?

Why did the wait affect your ability to hold on?

How did they tell you off? What did they say apart from telling you to sit straight and hold on (both of which are sensible safety requirements)?

If you knew you were weakening, why didn't you get off before the ride started?

user1492958275 · 11/08/2017 22:23

This is ridiculous. Everything about it.

I'm sorry you fell off the ride and we can all understand the embarrassment of it (regardless of size) and it sucks you had to have stitches.

But accidents happen, all the time, every day, constantly.

Everything you are saying is really trying to blame and point score but it's really coming across as a classic compo claim.

By all means try your luck but it's just adding to the problem really and I hope you don't get cash reward from this.

I can tell by your replies you're gonna go ahead anyway so I don't really see why you posted, unless you was hoping for an opposite view but that was never really gonna happen, most people don't think this way.

It's a shame that this is the norm now.

The insurance paid out, you're home and safe, the lifeguards were brilliant as were the ambulance crew. You should really just be happy with that. That is a great outcome from a shit situation. Idk why you need to push it any further.

DermotOLogical · 11/08/2017 22:25

Could have would have should have....

Sounds like an accident at best, at worst something you should have taken responsibility for. If you knew you'd been waiting too long then you should have got off. Not gone for it anyway and tried to blame the park.

Original poster
cheekymonk · 11/08/2017 22:26

When I was at hospital another lady came in with a neck brace and she said she had been to same water park AND SHE WAS THIN WinkAre these really reasonable consequences of going on a slide? I've never claimed any compensation in my life. DH and I both work.
As for what point I came off, it was 2/3 of way down at the highest point of slide. DH says I then floated to bottom of slide on tummy, head first.

OP posts:
Mychildcouldnotbreaatfeed · 11/08/2017 22:26

Did you tell the lifeguards you were feeling weak and not able to hold on properly

Miserylovescompany2 · 11/08/2017 22:27

At the end of the day - A sign for maximum combined weight was on display - You know your own weight - No-one else can guess it - I'd imagine you also know the weight of your DH & DC - so quickly adding those would have given you a really good indication to whether or not you should of preceded?

You also by your own admission were feeling tired and anxious...

It was an accident awaiting to happen.

Nicknacky · 11/08/2017 22:27

I'm not getting what it is you want us to say?

MadMags · 11/08/2017 22:30

I could have held on if not made to wait so long! Why tell me off before ride has begun?

Why did the wait affect your ability to hold on?

How did they tell you off? What did they say apart from telling you to sit straight and hold on (both of which are sensible safety requirements)?

If you knew you were weakening, why didn't you get off before the ride started?

Original poster
cheekymonk · 11/08/2017 22:30

Whatever position I adopted was not straight enough, it was muscle strength. I knew the ride would be over in less than a minute so hence delay making me weaker.

OP posts:
Oblomov17 · 11/08/2017 22:31

"I could have held on if not made to wait so long!"

This is a very weak argument.
Your anxiety is do strong, that it made you too weak to hold on?

Imagine a defence team battling that, in court?

Dragon is similar, but much more weak/tamer.

I have been on these rides in the last week, and don't feel you have any case. At all.

But I'm sorry for your accident. Really blackens a holiday.

Mychildcouldnotbreaatfeed · 11/08/2017 22:31

How can 2/3 of the way down be the highest point?

Rhubarbginisnotasin · 11/08/2017 22:31

I could have held on if not made to wait so long!

Op, as another overweight woman who also enjoys a waterslide I'm asking you to please accept that on the day your general unfitness, including your excess weight, caused your accident.

And it matters not a jot that on the day the lifeguards let you use the ride. The responsibility started and ended with you and what you are supposed to ask yourself before you board the slide is - if something goes wrong do I stand a good chance of being able to cope and to help myself.

We still laugh about the time I was on a ride with my family in Wild Wadi and for some reason i ended up in a dinghy half way up a wall on the top of a curve whilst my daughter and grandchildren were down on the body of the ride. The look of horror on their faces when they thought i was going to come crashing down on top of them and turn them into pancakes will stay with me forever. So will the look on my face when they looked up at me and saw exactly what I was thinking. Had I flattened them that day, or ended up on the road outside the ride, it would only have been my fault because whether we want to believe it or not - being overweight can damage our health and that of the people who go on rides with us.

Original poster
cheekymonk · 11/08/2017 22:32

They shouted sit straight, hold on tight.

OP posts:
Mychildcouldnotbreaatfeed · 11/08/2017 22:32

Your lack of muscle strength is your own issue. Not the park.

Rhubarbginisnotasin · 11/08/2017 22:33

Why did the wait affect your ability to hold on?

The OP is obviously unfit as well as overweight with little to no core strength.

MadMags · 11/08/2017 22:33

So they didn't tell you off. They gave you instructions which you were unable to adhere to.

That's not their fault.

Why didn't you get off when you felt weaker?

Original poster
cheekymonk · 11/08/2017 22:34

It's hard to explain! The slide has a point a bit like a pirate ship effect where you go up again...

OP posts:
PigletWasPoohsFriend · 11/08/2017 22:35

Whatever position I adopted was not straight enough, it was muscle strength. I knew the ride would be over in less than a minute so hence delay making me weaker.

Sorry but I'm really not sure what you want them to do. Are you saying they should do muscle strength test before you go on Hmm

Bluntness100 · 11/08/2017 22:36

Did you tell them you couldn't hold on and were feeling weak? This isn't something someone would reasonably be expected to know. You don't seem to expect your family to know and to tell you to get off, but you do the staff?

What about personal responsibility? You Knew you were feeling weak and didn't have rhe muscle strength, why didn't you get off?

Oblomov17 · 11/08/2017 22:36

Videos will explain why she came off at the highest point of the ride.
Which is, 2/3 of the way down.

PunnetSquare · 11/08/2017 22:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
cheekymonk · 11/08/2017 22:38

I'm taking steps to address my weight although if I say how, I'll get even more of a flaming!! If I had known so wasn't strong enough for the ride I would have got off. They did know that as they see the ride continually and there are I feel more accidents than I was aware of.
Going back to my original post, at no point did I suggest seeking compensation from the park. This was meant to be a simple query of whether the park was negligent or not. As soon as one person hinted at claiming money, many others jumped on the bandwagon. Claiming compensation would not be a decision that I would take lightly, if at all. Many people have passed through the ride without incident as stated but if lessons can be learned from what happened, either by me or the park, then surely it must be worth doing something about it.

OP posts:
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