A jury in Oregon awarded $550,000 to two teenage girls who were stranded upside down on an amusement park ride in June 2024. The Multnomah County jury voted 10-2 to award each teen $275,000 in their case against Oaks Park and ride manufacturer Zamperla.
The incident occurred June 14, 2024, when the AtmosFEAR ride, a spinning pendulum-style attraction, malfunctioned at Oaks Park in Portland. Approximately 30 riders were left suspended vertically, inverted, for nearly 30 minutes.
Emergency crews from Portland Fire Rescue responded and collaborated with park engineers to manually lower the ride. All 30 riders came down safely after roughly 25 minutes and received medical evaluations following the rescue.
The family of one teen, identified as Evie, said the lawsuit aimed to hold the park accountable. They argued the ride should never have malfunctioned and that the park's response worsened the crisis because it lacked a safety plan.
According to the family, Oaks Park had no knowledge of how to fix the ride when it became stuck in the inverted position and did not have the necessary tool on site to lower the attraction. Park staff had to call a 1-800 number for instructions on how to resolve the malfunction and waited for first responders to arrive with the required tool.
The family also alleged Oaks Park evacuated the park without providing traffic control, which prevented first responders from quickly entering and prolonged the ordeal for those trapped.
Oaks Park issued a statement after the verdict: "While we agree that the ride should not have become stuck, we are grateful that all of the riders are safe, and this incident is now resolved. Safety is our top priority, and we will continue to work with ride manufacturers and state inspectors to ensure rider safety."
The malfunction occurred on the first day of the park's summer operating season. Video footage showed riders hanging vertically as crowds gathered below the stuck attraction.
