Escalators move thousands of people every day, in train stations, airports, department stores and other large buildings.
Unfortunately, not all escalators are safe. They cause 10,000 injuries in the United States alone every year.
It’s not hard to see why. Escalators have multiple moving parts. If the parts become dislodged, people can become trapped in them. Clothing can become trapped and pull people in.
Escalators must be regularly maintained to be safe. The problem is, some are not regularly or sufficiently maintained. The escalators throughout the Washington, D.C. Metro subway system, for example, are notorious for frequently breaking down.
Adding to the threat is the fact that young children are most vulnerable.
Escalator Horror Stories from Near and Far
These escalator horror stories show how dangerous escalators can be.
- In China, maintenance workers forgot to screw an access cover back into place. A woman and her two-year old son got on the escalator, only to begin to fall through the unfastened access cover. The mother managed to throw her son to safety, but fell through the shaft herself before she could be rescued. She died in the accident.
- In London, an escalator exploded and killed more than 30 people. The reason? A buildup of debris and oil in insufficiently maintained escalators.
- A man was strangled when his hoodie became caught between an escalator’s stairs and landing platform.
- In Washington, D.C., people have been killed when their clothing became caught in an escalator. A 3-year-old was strangled at the Minnesota Avenue D.C. Metro Station. A middle-aged woman was killed when the Rhode Island D.C. Metro Station escalator caught some of her clothing.
- Escalator accidents can cause horrific injuries. At D.C. Metro Dupont Station, for example, a man lost the top of a foot because one of the station attendants, reportedly on drugs and suffering from mental illness, did not turn the emergency shut-off switch quickly enough.
- The D.C. Metro’s Smithsonian station was the site of an accident in which a visiting student lost a toe.
Experienced Premises Liability Attorneys in Southern California
Landlords and other responsible parties have a duty of care to maintain and repair escalators so that they are not dangerous to the public who come on their property. If they do not maintain them to a standard a reasonable person would find adequate, they can be sued if an injury occurs.
The Salamati Law Firm has an exceptional record of obtaining justice for our clients in premises liability cases in the Los Angeles area.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an escalator accident, call the offices of Los Angeles premises liability lawyer Sean Salamati today. We will provide a complimentary legal consultation. Payment will come from any final jury award or settlement amount.
Additional “Escalator Accident” Resources:
- Bradley, Ryan. “FYI: Why Are Escalators So Dangerous?” Popular Science. September 17, 2013. https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-04/fyi-why-are-escalators-so-dangerous
- D.C. Escalator Nightmare. Reason.com. April 12, 2012. https://reason.com/reasontv/2012/04/12/dc-escalators
- K12 News. “Woman Saves Son Before Falling to Her Death in Escalator.” http://www.12news.com/news/woman-saves-son-before-falling-to-her-death-in-escalator/184179847
- Mathews, Phillip. “How Dangerous Are Escalators?” USA Today. July 29, 2015. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/valley/2015/07/29/how-dangerous-are-escalators/30817195/