Although go-kart riding sounds like a fun, family-friendly activity, these motorized vehicles may actually be extremely dangerous and can lead to serious injuries or even death. Countless children and adults have suffered severe injuries while driving or riding on go-kart tracks.

Some victims have alleged that go-karts are inherently defective and dangerous, and that their operators are often negligent and do not provide drivers and riders with adequate safety warnings or instructions.

If you or a loved one was harmed or killed in a go karting accident in Tennessee, help may be available for you. Attorneys specializing in these kinds of injuries have partnered with Top Class Actions and are ready to take on your case.

We can connect you with a trusted Nashville injury attorney, Memphis personal injury lawyer, or Tennessee personal injury lawyer to help you understand your situation and plan your next steps.

While it can be scary and stressful to suffer a go kart accident, you don’t have to go through the process of seeking compensation and accountability from the negligent parties alone. Experienced personal injury attorneys are ready to review the details of your case and help you decide on the best course of action.

One Family’s Tragic Experience

It was an unseasonably cool August day when Rachel Gibbs and her husband took their family to AJ’s Family Fun Center near Grand Rapids, Mich. in 2015. As Rachel prepared to load into a go kart with her youngest son, she showed her handbag to an attendant to check that it was in line with safety precautions. The attendant did not mention that the scarf around Rachel’s neck was also a potentially dangerous item.

After she was cleared by the go kart safety attendant, Rachel and her youngest son climbed into the vehicle and began to drive around the go kart track.

According to Rachel’s husband Luke, who was driving in another go kart, he heard the screaming before he saw what had happened to his wife. Luke told The New York Times that he heard screaming while he was turning a corner in his go kart. Once he made the turn, he saw that his wife’s go kart was stopped, and her hands were wrapped around her neck. According to Luke, he watched her unbuckle her seatbelt, stand, take one or two steps, and then collapse.

It was discovered later that during her go kart ride, Rachel’s scarf had been caught in one of the go kart’s axles. This caused her windpipe to suddenly snap, leaving her with severe brain damage. Today, Rachel is in a permanent vegetative state and lives in a long term care facility about an hour away from where her husband and two sons live in London.

Prior to her injury, Rachel was a photographer who had once worked as an art director for Getty Images and loved to collect works by local artists.

According to Rachel’s family, AJ’s Family Fun Center was woefully unprepared for emergencies or accidents. Rachel’s sister Corri remembers that in the immediate aftermath of the accident, the park’s employees were unable to provide them with a defibrillator or an emergency phone, and that there was no first aid kit located near the go kart track. Additionally, when Luke used his British phone to call emergency services, the center attendants could not even remember the address of the park.

Young Girl Severely Disfigured

In another traumatic go karting incident from October 2018, a five year old girl from Louisiana became the victim of an unsafe vehicle and a lack of safety precautions.

Lani Use was attending a family party and playing on the gas powered go kart when she became severely injured by the vehicle. Lani’s mother, Macie Gautreux, says her daughter’s hair was tied up while she was using the vehicle, but this safety precaution was not enough to protect Lani from the dangerous kart. According to Macie, her daughter’s hair became caught in the motor of the go kart, suddenly and forcefully jerking her head towards the motor. The motor tore off the right side of Lani’s scalp off from her forehead to the nape of her neck. She also suffered skull fractures in four places.

As Lani drifted in and out of consciousness after the accident, her stepfather cut her hair free from the go kart’s engine using a knife and rushed her to the local hospital. From there, she was airlifted to  Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, where doctors repaired her brain injuries and lacerations, and reconstructed her skull with half a dozen plates.

Although she has recovered enough to be able to return to school, her family says Lani still suffers from several health conditions, including depression, seizures, vision problems, and weakness on the left side of her body.

Go Kart Injury Studies and Statistics

Go kart accidents can result in a variety of painful and severe injuries to victims. Common types of go karting injuries include:

• Serious hand and wrist injuries including sprains and breaks
• Limb injuries, including amputations
• Traumatic head injuries, including blunt impact or scalping
• Brain injuries, including permanent brain damage
• Facial injuries, including fractures to the nose, or injuries to the eye or ocular socket
• Injuries to the legs, hips, or back
• Degloving, or the removal of an entire section of skin from the underlying tissue

Victims of go karting accidents may also experience emotional or psychological symptoms following their traumatic experience. These symptoms may affect victims’ quality of life, and include depression, anxiety, PTSD, difficulty concentrating, sleeping problems, or other issues.

According to a report released in 2000 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 113 go kart accidents involving children under age 15 between Jan. 1, 1990 and Dec. 31, 1999 resulted in death. Additionally, approximately 12,600 children were injured badly enough by go karts to require emergency room attention in that same time period.

According to the report, most of these injuries were sustained in the upper body, including the torso, shoulders, arms, and hands, as well as the neck, face, and head. Approximately 75 percent of the injuries caused by go kart accidents were sustained by the driver of the vehicle rather than by a passenger.

Common causes of go kart accidents include collisions with objects or other vehicles, the entire vehicle flipping over due to high speeds or unsafe turns, passengers or drivers falling out of the moving go kart, or loose hair, clothing, or accessories becoming trapped in the moving parts of the vehicle.

According to another study focused on 160 children under the of 16 who were admitted to hospitals with go kart-related personal injuries between April 1998 and April 2003, children who are hospitalized due to go kart injuries spend an average of five days recovering from their injuries in a medical facility. Additionally, half of the children in the study required at least one operation, and a third required two or more.

Where’s the Oversight?

Amusement park go karts often go unregulated due to a lack of funding or oversight. Even when state agencies do inspect these vehicles, they often only inspect the mechanical parts, rather than ensuring that the kart operators are properly trained or that proper safety precautions are in place. Additionally, go karts at amusement parks and family fun centers may be old or in disrepair. Frequently, these vehicles have not been serviced in years and have several seasons worth of use on the brakes, motors, and other parts.

While most go karting tracks claim that they are “at your own risk” activities and require participants to sign a waiver before driving the vehicles, these waivers may not hold up if you are able to prove that the go kart manufacturer or operator was grossly negligent, or that the product was defective. A qualified personal injury attorney will be able to help determine the best course of action for you in your case.

If the go kart attendants were negligent in their duty to communicate safety precautions and observe activities on the go kart track, you may be able to file a lawsuit alleging negligent supervision. Victims who file go kart lawsuits with the aid of a qualified attorney may be able to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages for their injuries, distress, and pain and suffering.

While having an attorney on your side who understands Tennessee personal injury laws may make it more likely for you to win your case, finding a qualified attorney may be a difficult and time-consuming process. Top Class Actions has partnered with trusted personal injury attorneys in order to make finding the right legal counsel easier for victims.

By filling out the form on this page or calling the toll-free number provided, you will be connected to a skilled attorney versed in Tennessee personal injury laws. Depending on where your go kart accident occurred, you can benefit from the aid of a Nashville injury attorney, Memphis personal injury lawyer, or a Tennessee personal injury lawyer for elsewhere within the state. The sooner you get in touch, the sooner you know what your options are.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.