Can You Sue When You’re Injured on an Escalator or Elevator?

Escalators and elevators help transport people between different floors or elevations. Both types of devices have been extensively tested and used for decades. While they’re generally safe to use, accidents can and do happen. What can do you if you’re injured in an escalator or elevator accident?

Premises liability and conveyance accidents

Generally, elevator and escalator accidents are premises liability claims, which is a type of negligence lawsuit. To prevail, a plaintiff must show that the property owner or manager had a duty to keep the premises safe, knew or should have known about a dangerous condition on their property, failed to take appropriate action and as a result, the plaintiff suffered actual harm.

When a property includes elevators or escalators, owners have a duty to inspect, maintain and repair the conveyances to ensure safe operation. If they fail to schedule appropriate inspections, maintenance and repair, the property owner could be held liable for any injuries which result.

In some cases, the property owner contracts with an outside team to perform maintenance and repairs. If the work was performed improperly, or the third party maintenance team failed to do the work at all, they could be held responsible either in whole or in part.

Because multiple parties could potentially bear liability, working with a skilled accident attorney is key. For example, if a third party maintenance team failed to perform their duties properly, they would bear responsibility for the accident—but if there were problems so obvious the property owner knew or should have known about them, or failed to warn of the dangerous condition, they would also share the blame.

To find out whether you have a viable premises liability claim, reach out to the experienced personal injury attorneys at Jakubowski, Robertson, Maffei, Goldsmith & Tartaglia, LLP for assistance.