Highland adventure park faces legal challenge following 2021 incident

Park bosses have denied liability and argue the rollercoaster maintenance company is to blame

The Runaway Timber Train carries 24 people when full
Author: John RosePublished 23rd Aug 2024
Last updated 25th Aug 2024

A Highland adventure park is being sued after two girls were injured when a faulty rollercoaster derailed during a ride.

The Runaway Timber Train at Landmark Forest Adventure Park suffered a “mechanical fault” back in August 2021.

The carriages toppled down the track before coming to a halt at the bottom where it dangled off the edge of the track with people trapped inside.

Two 12-year-old girls suffered neck injuries and claim to still suffer psychological trauma.

The ride was shut down four months after the incident, with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) still to disclose any investigation findings.

The families of the girls now feel a court action against park bosses Visitor Centres Ltd will reveal what went wrong and help improve the safety of other parks.

After the ordeal the girls were checked over by paramedics and were then taken to hospital in Aviemore, both had suffered significant whiplash injuries.

Both girls, who are from the Borders, made a physical recovery but still experience anxiety symptoms and flashbacks.

The watchdog was asked in June 2022 for information but it claimed it could not as the probe was ongoing.

Representatives Digby Brown have said that park bosses deny liability and argue the rollercoaster maintenance company is to blame.

A spokesperson from Landmark Adventure Park said:

"We very much regret this incident occurred.

"Landmark Forest Adventure Park fully cooperated with HSE’s investigation into this incident 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.

"Our investigation confirmed that 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. We understand that 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. 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.

"Landmark acted swiftly following the safety alert issued in 2014. The park passed the industry safety alert to the specialist contractor who confirmed that the annual NDT testing which had already taken place that year was sufficient, and no additional action was required. NDT tests continued to be carried out annually.

"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"