Dangers Of Public Escalators

When we take an escalator, we tend to think that’s a pretty safe way to get up and down different levels of a building. Certainly, there is less risk of tripping than with stairs, and unlike an elevator, which can fall or which can trap us inside, an escalator presents no such danger.

But in fact, escalators present a bigger danger to us that you may think, and people, especially children, can easily be injured on or by an escalator.

A Lot of Moving Parts

The problem with an escalator, and what can cause the danger or risk, are the many places on an escalator which move, and which must be flush with each other.

For example, the stars move up and down, but the side handrail is stationary. The stars collapse and slide into or underneath the flooring at the top or bottom. When those stairs do collapse down, they flatten out, and the transition from stairs to a flat surface can present dangers.

All of these moving parts, which have to be even with each other, or which can trap small body parts, or even parts of clothing, can create dangers.

Girl Loses Fingers in Escalator

One recent lawsuit alleged that a small three year old girl sat on the escalator stairs—something that we could probably anticipate a child doing, and not something most would consider to be especially dangerous. But the gap between the moving stairwell, and the stationary side hand rail, was too big. The girl lost fingers, when they became trapped in that gap.

The lawsuit alleges that the escalators could have and should have had sensors—many modern escalators can sense when something is lodged or trapped in the gaps, and it will trigger an automatic shutoff. If it had sensors, the lawsuit alleged that they didn’t work in the way that they were intended to work.

Who is Liable?

When escalators hurt people, a number of actors may be liable.

If there is something inherent in the design, such as the lack of safety features, or safety features that don’t work properly, the victims may be looking at a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer of the escalator.

Many problems come from escalators being poorly maintained. Escalators contain a number of moving parts; when they aren’t maintained, the escalator may not move smoothly, thus causing people to fall. Either the individual escalator maintenance company, or the property where the escalator is located, may be liable.

Victim Gets Blamed

In many escalator accidents, the first thing that a defendant looks to, is the behavior of the victim while on the escalator—they try to say the victim put his or her hands somewhere, or that they didn’t monitor or supervise children, or they will try to find any kind of excuse, to say that the victim is at fault for the accident and injury—even when it is clear that the escalator malfunctioned or wasn’t properly maintained.

Contact our Rhode Island injury lawyers at Robert E. Craven & Associates at 401-453-2700 if you were injured by, or on, an escalator, elevator, or a stairwell on someone’s property.

Source:

click2houston.com/news/local/2024/10/18/h-e-b-escalator-company-facing-lawsuit-after-3-year-old-child-loses-4-fingers-in-accident/