The job where people hit you: Comp for haunted house workers

Running around screaming with your arms in the air like a homicidal maniac.

It’s just another day at the office for a person who works in a haunted house, but to those who handle workers compensation matters it’s possible repetitive stress injury to arms and/or vocal chords, not to mention a punch to the face in the event a patron gets really scared.

It happens, as Philadelphia personal injury lawyer Larry Pitt wrote in a blog post on Lawyers.com on Friday.

“Thousands of haunted house attractions in the U.S. employ workers who are trained to scare customers and give them the spooky experience they came for. However, sometimes haunted house patrons lash out in fear, forgetting that the monsters in the house are paid actors,” he wrote. “For this reason, haunted house workers are often attacked, causing them to suffer physical injuries, such as bites and broken noses.”

He goes on to list some common injuries suffered by haunted house workers: “broken noses, which are often caused by customers punching or elbowing workers in the face. Professionals in the industry report also being bitten by customers, tased, and even set on fire.”

Haunted house job duties and hazards can also create a claim: “Some workers are required to scream multiple times a night, while others must lift their arm repeatedly, causing a repetitive stress injury. Workers may also suffer slip and fall injuries as haunted houses are dark, smoky, and full of tripping hazards,” Mr. Pitts wrote.