Thrill Ride Safety to Be Studied

A national research and advocacy group will launch the first in-depth study into the possible link between brain injuries and thrill rides in response to increasing concerns over roller coaster safety since recent deaths at two California amusement parks.

The Brain Injury Assn.--a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that focuses on brain injuries, prevention and education--will examine about 30 to 50 cases in which amusement park patrons are alleged to have suffered brain injuries ranging from headaches to fatal ruptured aneurysms after riding a roller coaster or other attractions.

“If we can prevent one potential brain injury, that’s worth doing,” said Allen I. Bergman, association president and CEO.

The controversy gained steam this summer when 28-year-old Pearl Santos of Fontana died after suffering a ruptured aneurysm on the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia. Although many neurologists say that an aneurysm can burst at any time, the coroner’s report indicated that the stress and strain of the ride may have been a contributing factor in Santos’ death.

Last month, a 42-year-old woman died of a brain hemorrhage after riding a spinning attraction at Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo, Calif. No autopsy was performed and state officials said they have no medical evidence linking the ride to the death.

Also in recent months, Beverly Hills attorney Barry Novack settled the second of two cases against Disneyland for brain injuries allegedly related to its Indiana Jones Adventure ride, a rambunctious attraction that simulates an off-road Jeep ride.

Disneyland officials maintain that the ride is safe, and did not acknowledge fault in connection with the settlements.

Although several other examples have been written up in medical journals, no agency or organization has pulled the cases together for a sweeping review.

Bergman said the interdisciplinary panel would include experts on brain injury, gravity forces and the physics of trauma in an effort to do such an in-depth study.

After the research is complete, Bergman said, the panel could do one of the following: conclude that the injuries are nothing more than a curious set of coincidences; find reasonable cause for further research; or suggest that the industry consider placing guidelines or restrictions on G-forces--the effects of gravitational stress on bodies during acceleration. In the United States, indeed in most countries, there are no regulatory G-force limits on thrill rides.

“People have this queasy feeling that we might be reaching the edge of the safety envelope and it’s not very satisfactory to not know where that edge is,” said David Moulton, chief of staff for Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who introduced a bill calling for federal oversight of amusement parks in 1999 and again this year. So far, the legislation has stalled.

Industry officials have long defended the rides’ safety, citing statistics that the chance of suffering injuries serious enough to require hospitalization is one in 22 million.

The International Assn. of Amusement Parks and Attractions, the industry’s primary trade organization, has criticized media reports and government officials for sensationalizing accidents and jumping to conclusions about brain injuries.

“There is no credible medical research or evidence that there’s a connection,” said the amusement ride association’s president, Bret Lovejoy. “The same medical reports that talk about the person having an aneurysm say that it could have burst if they sneezed or if they were walking down the street.”