Elevator accidents can happen with elevators anywhere, and they usually occur due to one of two reasons: Either the elevator was poorly designed or manufactured, or it failed due to the elevator owner, building owner or elevator maintenance/repair company not properly maintaining it. As heavy-duty machinery that is used steadily and carries precious cargo — most notably human beings. All elevators must be kept in good repair and be fully and safely operational at all times. Elevators also must adhere to strict local city codes so that they operate in a safe manner.
Yet elevator accidents regularly happen. In fact, incidents involving elevators and escalators kill about 30 persons and seriously injure about 17,000 more people every year in the United States, according to data provided by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Elevator accidents involving persons working on or near elevators — including those installing, repairing and maintaining elevators or working in or near elevator shafts — account for nearly half of those yearly deaths. Of those, about half of the deaths of those working in or near elevator shafts were a result of falls into the elevator shaft.
Other elevator accident injuries or deaths are caused by workers being caught between moving parts of elevators (or perhaps escalators). Workers also may be in or on elevators or platforms which collapse, or they may be struck by elevators or counterweights.
Elevator Accident Prevention
These elevator accidents can be prevented. How? To avoid elevator accidents or escalator-related accidents with deaths or injuries, elevator owners and elevator repair and maintenance companies must:
- Establish a permit-required confined-space program for elevator shafts
- Provide barricaded fall-protection during work in or near elevator shafts
- De-energize and lock out electrical circuits and mechanical equipment when elevators are being repaired or are out of service
- Provide adequate elevator inspection and maintenance programs
- Employ or hire only qualified workers for elevator and escalator repair and maintenance
Major Elevator Companies
What are some of the major elevator companies? These include:
- Certified Elevator
- Columbia Elevator
- Delta Elevator
- Electra Vitoria S. Coop
- KONE Elevators
- McKinley Elevator Corp.
- Mitsubishi Elevator
- Otis Elevators
- ThyssenKrupp Elevator
Elevator Accidents — Legal Causes of Action
Elevator accidents don’t just happen. They are the result of negligence, actions or inactions which lead to or cause such accidents. And victims have legal remedies. In most elevator accidents, a death or injury easily could have been prevented if the elevator owner or building management had ensured that the elevator met the highest safety codes and had the latest safety devices. Failure to do so leads to legal liability.
An elevator repair or maintenance company also may be liable for faulty or poorly maintained elevators. Or, if a building owner hires an elevator maintenance company which does poor work, the building owner may be held responsible for its agents’ negligent workmanship. In most American cities, elevators are highly regulated, and laws hold responsible the building owners, landlords, elevator maintenance companies and elevator manufacturers for injuries and deaths caused by their negligence.
Time is of the Essence in Elevator Accidents
Immediately after an elevator accident which caused injury or death, the victim’s family must deal with the consequences of getting medical treatment for their loved one’s injuries or even having to make funeral and burial arrangements for them. But while that is happening, potential evidence at the accident scene may be lost or not properly recorded, and faulty parts even may be destroyed or deliberately misplaced. For these reasons, the family of an injured or killed victim of an elevator accident should quickly consult a trial lawyer with experience in cases involving elevators, cranes, winches, safety codes, building codes and other safety prevention measures. Such an injury attorney can file an elevator accident lawsuit to protect the legal rights of families and claim the payments to which they are legally entitled.
Elevator Accident Lawyer
If your family needs legal help after suffering an elevator accident injury or death, call us today at The Willis Law Firm. We have decades of experience handling such personal injury cases, and we can help you, too. Call us today and speak to a Board-Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer. David Willis has been certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1988 and is licensed in Texas and New York but investigates major disaster and injury cases nationwide.
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