Elevator accidents are a significant risk to many residents of Michigan. One elevator accident occurred in Ottawa County earlier this year when a worker fell twenty two feet down an elevator shaft. At the time the accident occurred, the worker was repairing part of a second floor elevator shaft. The worker was secured with a harness on a ladder while working. When the worker completed the job, he detached himself and fell down the shaft while trying to grab the ladder.
Fortunately, medical assistance was quickly called to the scene of the accident and airlifted the worker to a nearby medical facility. The worker was placed in critical condition due to a head injury and potentially broken bones.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics and Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that elevators and escalators kill approximately thirty people and seriously injure another eight hundred individuals in the United States each year. Of these injuries, ninety percent of the deaths and sixty percent of the injuries are caused by elevators. Given the serious injuries that can occur due to an elevator accident, it is particularly important for individuals to understand some of the basic information about how elevator accidents occur.
Causes Of Elevator Accidents
When elevator accidents occur, there are many parties that can potentially be held liable including the elevator’s manufacturer, a maintenance company that inspected or repaired the elevator, elevator designers, elevator manufacturers, elevator installation companies, and the individual or company that owns the building where the elevator accident occurred.
While there are numerous ways that elevator accidents in Michigan can occur, some of the most common causes include: malfunction of the elevator’s pulley system, improper leveling with the elevator and floor, exposed elevator shafts, defective elevators that trap individuals for too long, faulty wiring, and defective elevators that trap individuals between the elevator car and side wall.
Ways To Prevent Elevator Accidents
There are some safety precautions that should be followed by individuals who own elevators in addition to those who use elevators. Both types of individuals should remain vigilant about an elevator’s first signs of any potential problems or defects that could eventually lead to an accident. The presence of dust on an elevator is a good warning sign for many individuals that an elevator is not being well-maintained.
Individuals who spot elevators that stop a little above or below a floor should also be on guard and report this type of condition immediately. Individuals should also be patient in the event that an an elevator stops abruptly and should not try to crawl out of the elevator’s cab. Lastly, individuals should not rush into elevators with closing doors. One of the most common types of elevator accidents involve individuals who are injured by an elevator’s closing doors. Individuals should instead be patient and wait for the next elevator.
How Can an Elevator Injury Lawyer Help?
If you are involved in an elevator accident, consider contacting a licensed attorney that has experience handling these types of claims. Doing so can be an important part of the recovery process. At Jay Trucks & Associates, PC, we understand just how damaging elevator accidents can be and how to assist victims of these events in obtaining the best potential outcome.
With over 100 years combined experience and millions won for our clients, Jay Trucks & Associates.
