Article: Risky business: in today's litigious environment, liability ranks as the number one concern among waterpark operators. How to keep your park safe--and out of the courtroom.

The park was called "Adventure Landing," but Brad Sirmans didn't expect the adventure to last nearly four years. That summer of 1999, as he carried his 2-year-old son up the steps adjoining a slide in the Jacksonville, Fla., park's children's section, Sirmans slipped and fell. Sirmans' son was unharmed. But Sirmans himself took the long way back down--through the hospital with a herniated disk and severe laceration--and eventually into a courtroom.

Testimony showed the steps were slicked with black algae, and that waterpark employees did not properly treat it. Then, three lifeguards testified that they had seen other people slip and fall on the same stairs. When ...

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