Elevator & Escalator Accident Lawyers | Slip, Trip, and Falls
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Premises Liability > Accidents > Elevator & Escalator
Around 120 billion rides on elevators and escalators are taken annually in the United States. There are around 600,000 elevators in the United States. Therefore it’s likely that many individuals use them multiple times daily. Though they save time and effort, these metal cars can be extremely dangerous if not properly maintained or handled.
An estimated 10,000 severe injuries in the U.S. occur each year that involve elevators and dozens of deaths.
An elevator or escalator accident attorney at Warrior Personal Injury Lawyers in Colorado Springs, CO, helps those who have been hurt in such accidents.
We encourage you to call our Colorado Springs accident attorneys at 719-300-1100 for a free consultation to learn more about your rights and options in seeking compensation from the elevator maintenance business and the manufacturer.
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Elevator Injuries: The Different Kinds
Entering and exiting the elevator is the most common cause of serious injury and death in elevators. As a result of these mishaps, many people sustain life-threatening injuries and need professional medical care.
When entering or exiting an elevator, it’s common for people to trip and fall. If the elevator vehicle doesn’t come to a complete stop, it might not be flush with the ground outside, creating a trip hazard.
As the door shuts, the phrase ends. While trying to depart or enter the container, a person could have a limb or appendage crushed by the automatic doors. Though most doors have safety mechanisms to keep them from shutting on an object or person, accidents sometimes happen.
Quick descents in cars. An elevator descent is like a car crash in that it can cause passengers to be thrown about the car.
In the event of an elevator accident in Colorado Springs, the owner of the building may be held liable for the victim’s medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses due to negligence.
Several Old People And Children Were Injured Elevator Accidents In Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The elderly population is particularly at risk for elevator mishaps. About 2,600 elderly attend the emergency room each year owing to elevator-related injuries.
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that annually, on average, thirty people lost their lives in incidents involving escalators and elevators. About 50% of all elevator fatalities involve personnel installing or repairing the system.
The elevator accident survivors suffered:
- Accidental injuries from taking a tumble
- Hip fractures
- Tissue damage
- Dangerous fractures
Children and teenagers are especially vulnerable to harm in an elevator. Yet, the majority of the critically hurt patients are eighty-five or older. The numbers are rather low in terms of elevator and escalator accidents that send people under the age of 35 to the hospital.
The annual rate of children injured due to falls in elevators in the United States is 2.6 per 100,000, as reported by Consumer Watch.com. Severe injuries were more common in children younger than four.
Even The Case Of An Elevator Accident Must Be Prosecuted
About 17,000 people are injured, and 30 people die yearly due to the high traffic volume in elevator vehicles carrying millions of passengers. Combatant Injuries Those hurt in elevator accidents where property owners failed to provide adequate maintenance often hire legal counsel.
If you or a loved one are injured in an elevator accident in Colorado Springs because of faulty maintenance or design, our lawyers will fight for the compensation you deserve.
Our firm has won cases against building owners, maintenance companies, installers, and manufacturers in the context of elevator accidents.
Let’s make the construction order pay for their mistakes. To anyone injured in an elevator accident in Colorado Springs, we will assess their case at no cost. Get in touch with us at any time for a no-cost consultation.
Incidents Involving Freight Elevators At Warehouses And Factories
Freight elevators often operated manually, are commonly used in many commercial and industrial settings for transporting goods and surplus inventory. Injuries to operators and bystanders are likely due to their design.
There is no guarantee that a freight elevator door will close all the way, and only a few have locks. People could be at risk of injury from falls down the elevator shaft due to the commercial design of these units.
Warnings For Safe Use Of Elevators
Safety in elevators and their upkeep are subject to stringent regulations. The State of Colorado Fire Marshall – Division of Elevator Safety regulates elevators’ installation, upkeep, and operation throughout the state. Installers, builders, repairers, maintainers, and owners of escalators are all subject to oversight under the terms of the Elevator Safety and Regulation Act.
A personal injury claim can be made on behalf of anyone hurt because of inadequate upkeep or broken safety features. In an elevator accident, compensation for damages may be sought from the building’s owner, the elevator’s manufacturer, the maintenance company, or the installation.
Claims involving elevator accidents are notorious for their complexity and the need for extensive investigation, inspection, and other research to establish liability. Warrior Personal Injury Lawyers is a group of the best elevator accident lawyers in Colorado Springs who know how to handle cases of this complexity. After an accident or the death of a loved one, our clients deserve to be financially compensated for their suffering.
Allow us to fight for you in court to get the money you need to cover your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages caused by your accident. In the event of an accident on the property, you can file a premises liability claim against the property owner or any responsible parties.
Someone riding the elevator with you could be at fault. Still, it could also be the building’s owner or management, the elevator’s installers, the maker of the faulty product, the building itself, or even another passenger. Please contact our legal team for a no-obligation evaluation of your case.
To guarantee you get the most money possible under Colorado law, our injury attorneys can also help you file the necessary Workers’ Compensation paperwork and communicate directly with the insurance companies involved in the elevator accident.
When a loved one is killed on an escalator, their family members have the legal right to file a personal injury wrongful death case to recover damages.
Injuries Sustained In Elevator Accidents Frequently Asked Questions
We at the firm know many people’s loved ones have concerns regarding filing and resolving elevator accidents. A Colorado Springs elevator accident attorney addresses some of these concerns in the following.
Get in touch at 719-300-1100 immediately to speak with an elevator accident lawyer in Colorado Springs, CO, for free.
How Frequently Do Accidents Occur In Elevators?
About thirty people per year are killed on escalators and elevators, as reported by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Nine out of ten people killed on an escalator or elevator were victims of an accident.
Each year, another 17,000 people get serious injuries while using an elevator or escalator. Worker and maintenance expert deaths and injuries have occurred on elevator platforms and from being entangled in or between moving elements.
Failure to perform a duty of care for all escalator and elevator riders is a common cause of accidents. The owner of the property or the building may be held legally accountable for any damage sustained by visitors, including payment of medical expenses, hospitalization fees, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.
Why Do Elevators Sometimes Not Come Out Level?
More individuals are wounded or killed yearly in elevator is-levelling when the elevator doors open, and the surface is not level with the landing area. The uneven floor could provide a significant tripping hazard for riders entering and exiting the lift.
Aged machinery, excessive wear and tear, a lack of elevator maintenance, heavy use, faulty machinery, and even environmental factors can all contribute to the mix-levelling of an elevator.
Is It True That An Elevator Has Never Caused Anyone’s Death By Falling?
Nearly thirty people each year lose their lives in elevator accidents in the United States, and most of those fatalities involve maintenance workers performing work inside the elevator shafts.
In the history of the world, a handful of people have been killed after falling elevator shafts. Others perished due to electrocution, accidentally opened doors, or drowned due to the elevator going below the water-field street level.
If You’re In An Elevator Wreck, How Do You Die?
Due to the numerous safety mechanisms built into modern elevator vehicles, it is extremely unlikely that a passenger will perish in a free-falling elevator collision. Modern elevators rely on counterbalance ballast, while the elevators built a century ago relied on a different design.
Although these measures have been implemented, they cannot guarantee that travellers will have a risk-free trip. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), dozens of people die in elevator accidents annually. However, fires, electrical shock, electrocution, and slip/trip/fall accidents accounted for most of these incidents.
If You Become Locked In An Elevator, What Should You Do?
Keeping your cool in a stuck elevator is the first step to survival. Keep your wits about you to avoid making decisions that could put your safety at risk while you’re trapped.
Additional activities include:
Find a light source within the car, probably on the elevator’s control panel.
Try to exit the vehicle by pressing the “opened” button and seeing if the doors are automatically open.
Try calling the building’s security by pressing the button below.
Then, press the red alarm button to make a lot of noise inside and outside the elevator.
Last but not least, make a loud distress call and wait for rescue.
Interesting Question: Are Staircases Safer Than Elevators?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that using the stairwell is far more hazardous than using the elevator. According to Consumer Watch, approximately eighteen million people in the United States ride elevators yearly.
Hire An Attorney In Colorado Springs Who Specializes In Elevator Accidents And Injuries
Seek immediate legal counsel from a Colorado Springs, CO, elevator accident attorney if you or a loved one has been hurt in an elevator accident. Help us collect compensation for your lost wages and medical costs associated with your hospital stay.
It doesn’t take long for a liability lawyer from our firm to launch a thorough investigation and gather the facts necessary to win such a case. Get in touch with us now for a no-cost initial assessment.
If you’ve been hurt in an accident, don’t hesitate to contact a lawyer in Colorado Springs by calling 719-300-1100 or emailing. Through the protections afforded by the attorney-client privilege, all communications with our Colorado Springs premises liability lawyers are kept strictly confidential.
Car accident injuries, medical malpractice, premises liability, construction accident injuries, nursing home abuse, slip and fall injuries, and wrongful death claims are just some of the many cases our Colorado Springs accident lawyers handle.
Our Colorado Springs premises liability attorneys have represented clients who were injured in parks, grocery stores, supermarkets, office buildings, and other public places.
Injury From Elevators
Even though it might not happen often, elevator accidents do happen. Around 17,000 people in the United States are badly injured each year due to events involving elevators and escalators, according to the most recent data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That’s equivalent to over 1,400 hurts every month.
Despite our complacency, elevators and escalators are highly effective pieces of machinery. Elevators are responsible for 90% of the deaths (and 60% of the major injuries) each year. The millions of pedestrians who use them and the dozens of people who work in or around them are all at risk. The 31 fatalities are roughly evenly distributed between workers (14) and pedestrians (17).
Injuries sustained in elevators are widespread and often serious. In an elevator or escalator accident, you may be entitled to substantial compensation for your injuries. If you or a loved one has been injured in an elevator accident, read on to find out how Morgan & Morgan may assist you.
Accidents In Elevators And What Causes Them
Elevators, despite their seeming safety, can cause serious harm in several different ways. While some elevator mishaps are simply unavoidable, others can be avoided with a little caution.
- Elevators left running while out of service or being repaired;
- Inadequate elevator inspection
- Maintenance;
- A lack of barriers to prevent workers from falling shafts;
Common Causes Of Accidents In Elevators
Injuries and fatalities frequently occur in the following situations involving elevators and escalators:
- You could die in several ways related to using an elevator or escalator, including falling down the shaft,
- Getting caught in moving parts,
- Getting hit by an elevator or counterweight,
- The elevator or platform collapsing, and so on.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning earlier this year, pointing out that children can be fatally crushed in some house elevators in the space between the elevator car door and the elevator hoistway door.
The CPSC issued a warning, saying, “Children as young as two and as old as twelve have been crushed to death in this gap, suffering multiple skull fractures, shattered vertebrae, and severe hypoxia.”
Victims Of An Elevator Accident
Severe or even fatal injuries are possible in an elevator accident. Some of the most typical outcomes are the following injuries:
- Bone fractures
- ligament tears
- Concussions and other head trauma
- Accidental spinal cord injuries
- Death
- Amputation of Appendages
Acquiring Proof Of Negligence
You may be wondering what steps to take if you were hurt in an elevator or escalator accident and you suspect that the operator, manufacturer, or another party was to blame. Legal accountability or blame following an accident is known as “negligence” in the eyes of the law. The following conditions must usually be met to establish liability:
- The other person had a responsibility of care toward you. They breached their duties by not running the elevator in a safe manner, which was their responsibility.
- The accident occurred because the other party disregarded their duty to use reasonable care to keep you safe.
- Because of the other person’s carelessness, they are legally responsible for the mishap.
- It caused people to lose money. The other party’s behaviour resulted in harm to your person or property.
Consequences That Could Happen
An elevator injury attorney can help those who have been hurt in one of these situations get compensated for things like
- Lost wages and impaired earning ability
- Past, present, and future medical bills
- Anguish and distress
- Physical rehabilitation costs
- lost quality of life
- last tribute cost
Contact An Elevator Accident Attorney Today
Contact a lawyer at Morgan & Morgan if you’ve been hurt on an elevator or escalator. Our expert lawyers will examine the details of your case to establish who was at fault for your injuries and how much money you are entitled to receive as compensation. More than $9 billion has been returned to our clients so far.
Most notably, there is no upfront cost because we get paid a percentage of any money recovered for you (called a “contingency fee”) only if we successfully obtain a settlement or judgment on your behalf. Set up a no-cost consultation right away to find out more.
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