Two women suffered life threatening brain hemorrhages requiring emergency neurosurgery within six days of each other after riding the X2 rollercoaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, in July 2026. The ride has been closed since July 12, 2026, and California safety regulators have an open investigation. Court records and a CNN investigation link X2 to two rider deaths and more than a dozen serious injuries over nearly two decades. If you or a family member suffered a brain bleed, concussion, neck injury, or stroke like symptoms after riding X2 or any amusement park attraction in California, you may have a legal claim against Six Flags and other responsible parties.
Call Dordulian Law Group at (866) GO-SEE-SAM for a free and confidential case review. There is no fee unless we win.
X2 is one of the most extreme roller coasters in the world. It opened in 2002 as X, the first fourth-dimension coaster ever built, and was relaunched as X2 in 2008. Riders sit in seats mounted on the outside of the track that spin forward and backward independently of the train itself. The course runs roughly 3,600 feet and includes a near vertical 215 foot drop, with the train reaching speeds of about 76 miles per hour while riders are flipped head over heels in sequences they cannot anticipate or brace for.
On July 5, 2026, Pamela Guillen, a 40 year old Hawaii resident, went to Magic Mountain with her family to celebrate her daughter’s sixteenth birthday. She was nervous about the ride but agreed to make it the last attraction of the day. According to ambulance records reviewed by CNN, Guillen struck her head repeatedly against the headrest during the ride. When the train returned to the station she had to be helped from her seat and immediately began vomiting. She then lost consciousness.
Surgeons at the receiving hospital found an acute subdural hematoma with significant compression of her brain. They performed a decompressive craniectomy, removing a section of her skull to relieve the pressure. She did not regain full consciousness for roughly two weeks and initially could speak only a single word at a time. She has since described relearning how to walk and talk, and she continues to live with severe headaches, cognitive fog, and medication to prevent seizures.
Six days later, on July 11, 2026, Naomi Greer Wilkinson, a 25 year old Los Angeles resident, rode X2 with her siblings. She also lost consciousness and was rushed into emergency brain surgery. As of the CNN report published on August 27, 2026, she had been in a coma on a ventilator for more than a month.
Three neurosurgeons who treated the two women issued a joint written statement concluding that the severe brain injuries requiring emergency neurosurgical intervention resulted from a traumatic rapid acceleration and deceleration event experienced on the X2 ride. That conclusion directly contradicts the position Six Flags has taken in prior litigation, where the company has argued that the forces generated by X2 fall within approved industry standards and are not strong enough to cause a hematoma in a normal rider.
Six Flags closed X2 on July 12, 2026, and has stated only that the ride remains closed. The company has not offered a detailed public explanation. Cal/OSHA has confirmed that its inspection is still underway. Families of both women have said that a Six Flags representative offered them food on the night of the injuries and that they heard nothing further from the company afterward.
The July 2026 injuries did not occur in a vacuum. A CNN investigation identified more than a dozen serious injuries and hospitalizations connected to X2 over nearly two decades, along with two rider deaths documented in court records.
Hilda Farias, a 28 year old single mother, died after riding X2 in 2010. Medical experts at the time suspected that an existing abnormality in her brain ruptured because of the intensity of the ride. Her family later settled a lawsuit for an undisclosed amount. Internal Six Flags records produced in that litigation showed that at least five earlier X2 riders had gone to hospitals complaining of head pain.
On June 23, 2022, Christopher Hawley, a 22 year old recent graduate of San Diego State University, rode X2 with his younger brother and his cousin. According to the lawsuit later filed by his family in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the coaster jolted violently to a halt as the ride neared its conclusion, jarring all three young men in their seats. After exiting, Christopher needed the handrail for balance, said his head hurt, then knelt down and lost consciousness. A CT scan at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia showed a catastrophic right side subdural hematoma. He died the following day.
His parents sued in 2023, alleging negligence, design defect, and failure to warn riders about known dangers. Six Flags defended the case on the theory that the ride complies with industry standards. The case was scheduled for trial in September 2026 and settled in late August 2026 on undisclosed terms.
An expert retained by the Hawley family reviewed Six Flags internal records and reported that the company had received at least 70 complaints of head or neck injuries connected to X2 in the three years before Christopher Hawley died. Individual riders have described serious consequences. In 2020, Sheila Katerelos, then 50, said her head struck the back of the headrest on X2. She became nauseated and dizzy, began dragging one leg, and started slurring her speech. Doctors diagnosed a traumatic brain injury and multiple subdural hematomas. The following year, 46 year old Lucy Alvarez reported dizziness and head pain after striking the back of her head on the same ride.
Why the injury history matters legally: In California, a pattern of documented prior complaints can establish that an operator had notice of a dangerous condition. Notice is one of the most important building blocks of a negligence case, and it can also support a claim for punitive damages where a company continued to operate a ride in conscious disregard of a known risk.
For broader context on how often these incidents occur nationwide, see our resource on amusement and theme park ride accident injury statistics.
California holds amusement park operators to a higher standard than almost any other business. In Gomez v. Superior Court (2005) 35 Cal.4th 1125, the California Supreme Court held that the operator of a rollercoaster or similar amusement park ride is a carrier of persons for reward under Civil Code sections 2100 and 2101. That designation carries enormous weight.
Under Civil Code section 2100, a common carrier must use the utmost care and diligence for the safe carriage of its passengers. Under section 2101, it must provide vehicles that are safe and fit for the purposes to which they are put. This is not the ordinary reasonable person standard that governs most injury cases. It is the highest duty of care California law imposes. A park that straps members of the public into a machine that hurls them through the air at 76 miles per hour is required to exercise the utmost caution to protect them, and the fact that the ride exists for entertainment rather than transportation does not reduce that obligation.
Six Flags has historically argued that riders accept the inherent risks of thrill rides. That defense has real limits. California’s primary assumption of risk doctrine does not permit an operator to unreasonably increase the risk of injury above what is genuinely inherent in the activity, and Gomez confirmed that rollercoaster operators still owe the heightened common carrier duty. A posted sign does not waive a park’s obligation to maintain its equipment properly, does not excuse a defective design, and does not immunize a company that had documented notice of repeated brain injuries.
A season pass agreement or a ticket back containing release language also does not automatically end a claim. California courts scrutinize these provisions closely, and Civil Code section 1668 bars contractual releases for certain conduct. Never assume you have signed away your rights without having an attorney review the actual documents.
Responsibility in a case like this is layered. Potential defendants include the park operator and its corporate parent, the ride manufacturer and design engineers, restraint and harness suppliers, third party maintenance contractors, and outside inspection companies. Identifying every responsible party early matters, because each may carry separate insurance coverage.
The injury pattern reported in the X2 cases is a subdural hematoma, which is bleeding between the brain and its outer covering. It is typically caused by the tearing of small bridging veins during rapid acceleration and deceleration. Critically, a direct blow to the head is not required. Violent whipping of the head, the kind produced by sudden jolts and unpredictable rotation, can be enough.
Warning: symptoms can be delayed. A subdural hematoma can develop over hours, days, or even weeks. Riders have walked out of the park feeling shaken and collapsed later that evening. If you or someone with you experiences any of the symptoms below after a ride, treat it as a medical emergency and go to an emergency room immediately.
When you seek care, tell the treating providers specifically that you rode a high force amusement ride and describe what your head did during the ride. That detail can change the imaging decision a physician makes. For a fuller explanation of how these injuries develop and progress, read our guide to the symptoms and causes of traumatic brain injury.
These are general rules and exceptions exist in both directions. The only reliable way to know your deadline is to have an attorney evaluate the specific facts of your case.
Emergency transport and hospitalization, neurosurgery and intensive care, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and cognitive therapy, neuropsychological evaluation, cranioplasty and reconstructive procedures, anti seizure and pain medication, in home nursing and attendant care, assistive devices, home and vehicle modifications, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, and the cost of a professionally prepared life care plan projecting decades of future need.
Physical pain, mental suffering, cognitive impairment and personality change, loss of independence, anxiety and depression, disfigurement and scarring from a craniectomy, sleep disruption, loss of enjoyment of life, and inconvenience. A spouse may also bring a claim for loss of consortium.
When a rider does not survive, eligible family members may recover funeral and burial expenses, the financial support the decedent would have contributed, the value of household services, and the loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support. Learn more on our wrongful death attorney page.
Under Civil Code section 3294, a jury may award punitive damages where a defendant acted with malice, oppression, or fraud, including a conscious and willful disregard for the safety of others. Documented internal knowledge of dozens of prior head and neck injury complaints is precisely the kind of evidence that supports this claim.
There is no federal agency with authority to inspect or close a fixed site amusement ride in the United States. Oversight is left to the states, and most states do very little. California is an exception. Under Labor Code section 7900 and following, the Permanent Amusement Ride Safety Inspection Program requires annual inspection by the Cal/OSHA Amusement Ride and Tramway Unit, requires operators to report serious injuries, and authorizes investigations following an incident.
That framework produced the current X2 inspection. It does not, however, compensate an injured rider or a grieving family. Regulatory findings can be powerful evidence in a civil case, but only a civil claim can recover medical costs, lost income, and damages for a life permanently altered. A regulatory investigation and a lawsuit are separate tracks, and one does not substitute for the other.
Dordulian Law Group is a California trial firm based in Glendale, serving clients across Los Angeles County and the state, including the Santa Clarita Valley and Valencia. Our personal injury practice handles catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases against corporate defendants with substantial resources and aggressive defense teams.
Sam Dordulian is a former Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County and a former sex crimes prosecutor. He has secured more than 100 jury trial victories, maintains a 98% winning record, and has recovered over $150 million for his clients. That courtroom background matters in a case against an opponent that has settled repeatedly on the courthouse steps. Defendants evaluate cases differently when the firm across the table has a documented history of trying cases to verdict.
Free and confidential consultation. Call (866) GO-SEE-SAM or visit dlawgroup.com. We serve clients throughout California, and consultations are available in English and Spanish.
Possibly, yes. Subdural hematomas are frequently caused by rapid acceleration and deceleration forces that whip the head violently, tearing small bridging veins, without any impact to the skull. That mechanism is exactly what the three treating neurosurgeons described in the July 2026 X2 cases. What matters is the medical evidence and the forces the ride generated, not whether you remember striking something.
No. Delayed onset is common and expected with subdural bleeding, and it does not defeat a claim. Go to an emergency room immediately, tell the physician you recently rode a high force amusement attraction, and then contact an attorney. The delay is a medical fact your case will explain, not a weakness.
In most cases, yes. California’s assumption of risk doctrine does not allow an operator to unreasonably increase risk beyond what is inherent in the activity, and rollercoaster operators owe the heightened common carrier duty of utmost care. Signage does not excuse defective design, deferred maintenance, or a failure to act on documented prior injuries. Have an attorney review the actual language before you conclude anything.
X2 is a fifth dimension wing coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, with seats that rotate independently of the track, a 215 foot drop, and speeds near 76 miles per hour. It was closed on July 12, 2026, after two riders required emergency brain surgery within six days. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has an open inspection.
Dordulian Law Group handles these cases on contingency. There are no upfront costs, no hourly billing, and no fee unless we recover compensation for you. The initial consultation is free and confidential.
A family member can generally act on behalf of an incapacitated adult through a conservatorship, or on behalf of an injured child through a guardian ad litem. We regularly help families set up the necessary authority, and the process should not delay the investigation of your claim. Call us and we will explain the steps.
It varies widely. Straightforward cases can resolve in months. Catastrophic brain injury cases against a major corporate defendant frequently take one to three years, in part because the full extent of future medical need must be established before a fair value can be determined. Settling too early is one of the costliest mistakes an injured rider can make.
Yes. We handle injury and wrongful death claims arising at amusement parks, water parks, carnivals, fairs, and family entertainment centers throughout California, including Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios Hollywood, SeaWorld, and county fair midways.
No responsible attorney can quote a number without reviewing the file. Value depends on the severity and permanence of the injury, the strength of causation evidence, the projected cost of lifetime care, lost earning capacity, the conduct of the defendant, and available insurance. What we can tell you is that cases involving craniectomy, prolonged coma, and permanent cognitive impairment are among the most significant in California tort law.
If you or someone you love was injured on X2 or any other ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain, you are not alone, and you are not the first. The documented history of this attraction stretches back more than sixteen years and includes two deaths, dozens of internal injury complaints, and multiple lawsuits that were resolved quietly before a jury ever heard the evidence. Families deserve answers, accountability, and the resources to rebuild.
Dordulian Law Group offers free, confidential consultations with no obligation. Call (866) GO-SEE-SAM or visit dlawgroup.com to speak with a member of our team today. Learn more about our personal injury practice, our wrongful death representation, the symptoms and causes of traumatic brain injury, and current amusement and theme park ride accident injury statistics.
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