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The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought a prosecution against both the owner and the inspector of the ride at in the West Midlands for breaching health and safety regulations.
Wolverhampton Magistrates Court heard how the two victims were on the 27-year-old revolving ride when the incident happened.
Victim 1 suffered head, neck and back injuries, but was released from hospital soon after the incident. However, Victim 2 received severe spinal injuries and spent months recovering at a specialist centre, before moving to a specially adapted house.
The owner of the ride pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. He was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 costs.
The inspection company tasked with carrying out safety tests on the ride, was ordered to pay £35,000 compensation to Victim 2 after pleading guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The ride featured a rotating vertical pole with six arms - each holding a cluster of spinning cars. The car the two women were in broke away from the arm and was flung through the air before coming to rest near an adjacent fast-food stall.
The ride had only been operating for 20 seconds and was not up to full speed when the malfunction occurred. The court heard that if it had been up to full speed, the consequences for the women, and those in the vicinity of the ride, could have been fatal.
An investigation showed the there was a failure of a weld that held the car to the ride. Despite receiving an annual inspection, which took place just weeks before the incident, the problem was not detected.
An Inspector from the HSE commented upon the case:
"These two young women suffered serious injuries but the results could have been much, much worse. If the ride had been at full speed, we could have been looking at a fatal incident, with possible injuries to other passengers on the ride as well as onlookers.
As the ride's owner had a duty to ensure his ride was maintained in good working order, while the inspection company had a duty to carry out a thorough inspection. They both failed in their responsibilities and have left these two young women with life-long injuries."
In November 2009, the inspection company admitted failing to properly examine a similar ride in Suffolk, breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It was then ordered to pay a £8,000 fine with £1,000 costs.