Families of girls hurt in rollercoaster breakdown sue park

The families of two children who were injured in a rollercoaster incident at a Highland theme park are seeking compensation.

The 12-year-old girls from the Scottish Borders were hurt at Landmark Forest Adventure Park in Carrbridge, near Aviemore, on 12 August 2021.

The families' solicitor, Digby Brown, said the girls suffered significant whiplash injuries and psychological trauma.

It is understood a five figure sum in damages has been sought.

The park's owners said they regretted the incident and that no action against them had been taken by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Police said at the time of the incident a carriage suffered a "mechanical failure".

Digby Brown said the families, who have not been named, wanted answers to what happened to the ride.

The father of one of the girls claimed the rollercoaster was at its highest point when he heard a "bang" and saw smoke.

He said onlookers could only watch as the carriage "plummeted to the bottom" of the ride.

The father said: "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."

The mother of the second girl said she had felt terrified and helpless.

She said: "Our sincere thanks go to the emergency workers and medical staff who cared for our children that day."

The families said they were frustrated by a lack of information on what had happened.

A court action has been raised against Visitor Centres Ltd which runs the theme park.

A spokesperson for Landmark Park said: "We very much regret this incident occurred.

"Landmark Forest Adventure Park fully cooperated with HSE’s investigation which resulted in no enforcement action of any kind being taken against us by HSE. We also carried out our own investigation into the incident."

The company said its own investigation confirmed the defect which contributed to the accident should have been detected by a specialist contractor during the annual non-destructive testing (NDT) inspection prior to the incident.

It said it understood the HSE’s investigations reached the same conclusion.

NDT testing is a legal requirement which must be carried out every 12 months in accordance with industry guidance.

The spokesperson added: "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."

They confirmed that Landmark had not been placed under any restrictions but had decided not to operate the rollercoaster following the accident and it is no longer on site.