As an Orange County personal injury lawyer, I have noted amusement park accidents that have occurred in California and around the country. Tragedy struck in Florida the morning of July 5, 2009 when two monorail trains collided killing 21-year-old Austin Wuennenberg, an employee at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. According to The Orange County Register, the monorail trains that collided at the Walt Disney World were on a track in the Magic Kingdom section of the Florida resort. Authorities are still trying to figure out what caused the crash. But Disney officials said the monorail in Anaheim's Disneyland is operating safely.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of young Austin Wuennenberg for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. I offer my deepest sympathies to everyone who knew and loved Wuennenberg. Please keep them in your prayers during this difficult time.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), emergency room injuries from a amusement park accident rose more than 85 percent over the last five years. According to a study conducted by the CPSC, several factors were usually involved in these amusement park accident injuries--consumer behavior, operator behavior or error, lack of training, mechanical malfunction and design defects or limitations. Whatever questions may remain about who is to blame for the accident, there is no question that those injured while riding amusement park attractions suffer pain and loss because of their injuries. In this case, one person--a Disney employee--died.

Wuennenberg's family would probably be entitled to workers compensation benefits. But his family would be well advised to contact a personal injury lawyer who will look into whether there is a third party claim here. Such workplace accident claims are made against a party other than an employer, for example, a contractor, sub contractor or the manufacturer of the defective product. If visitors to the park are injured or killed in an amusement park accident, the park operator could be held liable for those injuries especially if the ride accident was caused by lack of proper maintenance or proper operation.