Destination theme parks, water slides, and good old-fashioned amusement parks can be a ton of fun. Millions of families a year visit these parks, have a great time, and make precious memories.

As a matter of fact, the International Association of Amusement Park and Attractions (IAAPA), which is a trade association for permanent amusement park facilities, has said that more than 300 million people go to amusement parks each year.

Amusement park rides seem to be relatively safe. The IAAPA says that the chance of sustaining an injury in one of America's 400 fixed-site amusement parks and attractions is one out of nine million.

But there is a darker side to amusement parks.

The 300 million people that go to these parks yearly go on more than 1.5 billion rides. And there is a certain amount of risk involved when you go on any one of these rides. The reality is that thousands of people a year are injured by accidents that happened as a result of going on amusement park rides.

Many of these ride-related injuries can be quite minor. They could only amount to some minor cuts and bruises. But they could be more severe. There have been instances of whiplash and much more serious injuries.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), between 1997 and 2004 approximately 60,000 people had injuries related to amusement park rides and were treated for them in emergency rooms.

Injuries that have been treated in emergency rooms include lacerations, face and head injuries, concussions, neck and back injuries, spinal cord injuries, internal injuries, brain damage, broken bones and fractures, amputations, and dislocations. And people have even died as a result of going on these rides.

And let's not forget mobile rides. These are the kind of attractions that you'll find in carnivals, state fairs, at parties, and at other similar events. You might be surprised to hear that approximately 5,000 people a year have to go to the emergency room to be treated for serious injuries related to the rides they go on at these venues..

There are a number of factors involved that can cause accidents at the different types of amusement parks. These include the visitor's behavior, if the park personnel is unsupervised or poorly trained, if the rides are poorly maintained or defective, if there is a lack of safety equipment, if there are mechanical failures, if the park doesn't provide adequate warnings, or if there is an operator error.

If there was negligence on the part of the amusement park then the amusement park may be held liable for causing the accident.