Elevator And Escalator Accidents

New Yorkers don’t think twice about using elevators and escalators daily. Whether in a subway station, train station, department store, office building, or even in their own apartment building, we feel safe onboarding and offboarding when we get to our destination.

Although both are generally considered safe, accidents do happen. These accidents generally occur because of inadequate maintenance or bad design. Both elevators and escalator accidents can lead to serious injuries that can leave you with long-term convalescence.

Whether you were going from point A to point B, on the job repairing an elevator or an escalator the owner, an operator has a duty of care to ensure that you are able to do so safely. When the party is responsible for the equipment failing in their duty of care they can be held accountable for your injuries.

Accidents In Elevators In New York City

Injuries that occur from an elevator are usually caused by:

• Doors that malfunction close on someone due to faulty sensors
• Wet and/or slippery floors
• Clothing caught in an elevator door, injuring a passenger
• Misleveling, when an elevator doesn’t stop exactly where it should, and is not flush with the floor, causing a trip or fall hazard
• Sudden stopping causes the passenger to hit a wall or fall on the floor
• Stopping between the building floors
• Abrupt acceleration or deceleration, or over-speed conditions
• Failure of emergency communication and safety devices
• Entrapment by doors or the car
• Ventilation system malfunction
• Improper maintenance of the hoist cable
• Electrocution from exposed or faulty wiring
• No required inspection or defects not repaired after found in an inspection

Modern elevators are much more automated than in previous years period. Therefore, accidents are more likely to be the fault of insufficient or inadequate maintenance. In this case, the more likely cause of the accident is negligence due to lack of inspection and maintenance.

Elevators and hoists require regular inspections according to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ standards and specifications, ASME A17, the standards for both elevators and escalators. New York City also has its own set of regulations for elevators and escalators in the New York City, N.Y., Code § 27-982 to § 27-1005. The primary concern of these regulations is to ensure safety. Passengers that ride on the escalators and elevators daily.

New York has additional requirements for elevators, including a mirror inside for onboarding passengers to see if there is anyone else, impact resistance, fire resistance of 90 minutes. Elevators must also have a Governor or Otis system included, along with some type of impact buffer at the shaft’s bottom. If any of these systems should fail, it is likely due to inadequate maintenance.

Accidents On Escalators In New York City

The electric stairs make life easy for everyone, but especially elderly people and those with mobility issues. Children may also find them interesting. Unfortunately, many of the accidents that happen on escalators involve children and elderly riders.

Escalators are subject to much of the same safety requirements as an elevator. Because of their automation, there’s a smaller chance of operator error. That means that the most likely culprit is negligence or insufficient maintenance.

Many accidents are due to someone embarking or disembarking from the escalator. However, accidents can also occur because of sudden stops, improper speeds, handrails that do not work correctly, or missleveled steps that don’t meet the comb plate as they should. It’s also possible for an escalator to develop a slick surface. Clothing can also become caught. And the buildup of lint can also lead to a fire.

To thwart these hazards, elevators are required to be equipped with guard brushes, emergency stop buttons, and sprinklers. When these safety features don’t work as they intended, they are likely due to insufficient maintenance.

How To Find Who’s Responsible For An Elevator/Escalator Accident

There are more than 17,000 accidents in the US every year in year in US just on escalators (US Bureau of Labor Statistics.) Proper installation, servicing, and maintenance can prevent many of the accidents that happen on both escalators and elevators in New York City.

Both require regular inspections to prevent hazardous conditions, such as a lint buildup, which could cause a fire. Anything that could be dangerous is required to be corrected immediately. Other types are generally required within 120 days. If a building manager fails to make these repairs as required, or perform other maintenance tasks that subsequently cause an injury, they may be negligent.

Should an inspection fail to uncover any problem that leads to someone becoming injured, the responsible inspector or end, or the building manager may be held responsible and liable?

When you work with a New York City elevator and escalator accident attorney, they can investigate your case. This investigation includes obtaining evidence of:

• Surveillance video
• Work records, including upgrades, and maintenance logs
• Service reports
• A list of all inspection agencies involved with the elevator in question
• Insurance carriers.
• The service contract and what’s involved
• All parties involved in the escalators, ownership, and maintenance, and who was responsible for what.
• Witness statements and information

After an accident, it’s vital to gather up evidence as soon as possible before anyone has a chance to eliminate it. This is where a premises liability lawyer can help protect your interests in such a complicated case, and fight for the compensation you need to recover completely.

Get Help After An Elevator Or Escalator Accident In New York City

Claims for elevator or escalator accidents are very complex. There are multiple parties involved, including business owners, property owners, inspectors, manufacturers of equipment, insurance companies, maintenance workers, and others. After an accident, while you’re recovering from your injuries, finding, these parties can become a full-time job.

Additionally, an insurance adjuster is very likely to call you after your accident paid if they discovered that you are not represented by an attorney, they know that you are more likely to accept a lowball settlement offer. They can also use literally anything you say to deny your claim.  Be forewarned that this is a common practice. Do not let an insurance company take advantage of you in a vulnerable situation.

BigLawsuit’s experienced elevator and escalator accident attorneys understand the difficulties involved. Call us at (888) 998-7165 or tell us about your case using our online contact form. We will review your case at no charge and let you know about your legal options with no obligation.