Escalator Injury Accidents – You Could Sue

Escalators are very convenient for moving people between floors; they allow for quick transportation with virtually no wait-time like those typically associated with elevators. Escalators are essentially a motor-driven chain of linked steps that cycle on tracks. Escalators are very common in large buildings, including but not limited to malls, department stores, railway stations, airports, hotels, convention centers, arenas/stadiums, and amusement parks. Escalators can be found both indoors and outdoors.

Because escalators are so common in large buildings, many people have used escalators a number of times – mostly without incident. The most common inconvenience surrounding escalators includes it being out of service – which means people have to use stairs or elevators instead. However, it is possible for escalators to lead to much more than inconveniences; escalators can contribute to accidents, which can cause many injuries.

Were you or a member of your family harmed in an escalator incident? If so, you should consider the legal options available to you. Depending on the details surrounding your escalator incident – and the harm suffered – you might have grounds to file a personal injury claim for the incident. If you are interested in learning more about your right to sue for the harm resulting from the escalator incident, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm as soon as possible.

Kenmore Law Group is a personal injury law firm with many years of experience handling all sorts of claims – always representing the rights of injured victims and their families. If you are interested in learning more about your right to pursue a claim and recover compensation for the harm suffered in a escalator accident, you can trust the escalator accident attorneys at our firm to provide you with the guidance that you need to pursue your claim.

Would you like to discuss your current situation with the escalator accident lawyers at Kenmore Law Group? If so, contact our firm today.

The Types of Escalator Incidents and Resulting Harm

What is the first thing that you think about when you imagine an escalator accident? For many, escalator accidents are limited to instances where clothing or other loose items become entangled with the escalators, resulting in crushing injuries (such as the loss of limbs) or even death to the victim. Although these types of incidents can occur and should always be taken seriously, they are rare compared to other types of incidents.

The common types of escalator incidents include the following:

• Jerking
• Moving too fast
• Sudden stops
• Sudden starts and sudden stops

This incidents all consist of sudden motions that could cause the parties riding on the escalators to jolt – they could jolt forward or backwards potentially crashing into other parties on the escalators or they could fall both on top of others or on the edges of the escalator steps. This could lead to significant injuries, which could include traumatic brain injuries, head injuries (concussions), cranial/facial fractures, whiplash, back injuries, spinal cord injuries, and fractures, among other injuries.

Regardless of the specific type of incident and the harm that you or a member of your family suffered, you might have grounds to take legal action. If you would like to learn more about your right to pursue a claim, contact our firm at your earliest convenience.

What Causes Escalator Incidents?

Escalator accidents do not just happen for no reason. Some of the common causes of escalator accidents can be attributed to the following parties or entities:

• Property owners – specifically, property owners that fail to ensure that their entire premises (including any escalators on the property) are safe and free of hazards that could contribute to incidents.
• Manufacturers – specifically, manufacturers that fail to ensure that their products (that is, their escalators) are free of any defects that could contribute to incidents before making them available to the public.
• Installers – specifically, the companies or teams that install escalators that fail to follow appropriate installation measures and incorrectly install escalators, putting others at risk.
• Mechanics – specifically, the mechanics who are responsible for inspecting and addressing mechanical issues but fail to identify and address the problem or actually create additional problems.

Establishing Liability for Escalator Accidents

As mentioned above, property owners, manufacturers, installers, and mechanics could all contribute in one way or another to escalator accidents. But who is liable? Who can you sue? After the incident, you might have been left with a number of questions including some of the following:

• Who can I sue if the escalator jerked resulting in my injuries?
• Can I sue if a sudden stop of an escalator resulted in my injuries?
  Do I have a case if a sudden start and stop of the escalator resulted in my injuries?
• Who can I sue if the escalator moved too fast and caused my injuries?

It is normal to have these questions after an escalator accident. Afterall, the party or entity that you could sue depends on the details surrounding the incident. So, who can you sue? To gain a better understanding of who you could sue, you must have a thorough understanding of liability as applied to your claim.

To establish liability for an incident, the four elements of negligence must be present – duty of care, breach of duty, cause, and harm. That is, a party or entity owes you a duty of care; the party or entity breached the duty of care, which caused an incident which resulted in harm. Property owners, manufacturers, installers, and mechanics all have a duty of care; therefore, they could be liable for the harm that you suffered as a direct result of a breached duty of care.

Would you like to learn more about your right to file an escalator injury claim for the harm that you or a member of your family suffered? If so, do not hestiate to seek legal assistance with the personal injury lawyers at our firm as soon as possible.

Recovering Compensation after Reaching a Successful Claim Outcome

Are you eligible to recover compensation for the harm that you or a member of your family suffered in an escalator accident? Your right to recover compensation is based on the details surrounding your claim. Although every claim is different, some of the categories of compensation that you could be eligible to recover could include the following:

• Medical bills
• Lost wages
• Pain and suffering
• Funeral and burial costs
• Loss of consortium
• Property damage
• Punitive damages

Could you be eligible to recover all the categories of compensation mentioned above? Because the type and amount of compensation that you could receive depends strictly on the details surrounding your claim, you should always seek the expert opinion of a lawyer to better understand the compensation that you could recover. If you would like to learn more about the type and amount of compensation that you could be eligible to receive, contact the experts at our firm today. Our escalator accident attorneys are ready to help you receive the highest amount of compensation available for your claim.

What Should Affected Individuals Do?

Were you or a member of your family harmed in an escalator incident? If so, you might have grounds to sue. You should take immediate action to ensure that you can hold the liable party or entity accountable for the harm suffered. What should you do? Affected individuals should do the following:

• Seek medical attention for the harm suffered as soon as possible
• Photograph the scene of the accident
• Photograph all the injuries suffered
• File an accident report with the relevant party or entity (request a copy of the report)
• Speak to witnesses, gather their testimonies, and contact information
• Collect all medical records associated with the incident
• Collect records of property damage resulting from the incident
• Collect records of other damages, such as lost income, caused by the accident
• Contact an experienced escalator incident attorney as soon as possible

If you would like to learn more about the steps that you should take after the escalator accident that harmed you or a member of your family, do not hesitate to contact our firm at your earliest convenience.

The Statute of Limitations

Although you might be eligible to pursue an injury claim after suffering harm in an escalator accident, you could lose your right to sue under some circumstances; specifically, you could lose your right to sue if you do not file your claim on time. Your claim is subject to a statute of limitations, which establishes the time that claimants have to sue. If claimants do not file their claims on time, they could lose the right entirely.

How long do you have to file your escalator injury claim? In California, personal injury claims are subject to a two-year statute of limitations; in other words, claimants will only have two years to pursue their claims. Although this deadline applies, it is important that all prospective clients know that exceptions to the statute of limitations could apply – resulting in a paused statute of limitations.

Are you ready to learn more about the specific time that you have to pursue your claim? If so, contact our escalator injury attorneys for more information about the deadline that applies to your claim.

Contact Kenmore Law Group Today

After being harmed in an escalator incident, you might have grounds to pursue a personal injury claim. If you or a member of your family suffered harm in an escalator accident, you might benefit from discussing your claim with an experienced escalator accident attorney. If you would like to learn more about your right to file an escalator injury claim, do not hesitate to contact the personal injury lawyers at Kenmore Law Group as soon as possible. Kenmore Law Group is a personal injury law firm with many years of experience handling all sorts of claims; our lawyers always fight to represent the best interests of our clients. If you would like to discuss your claim with the experts at our firm, do not hesitate to contact us at your earliest convenience.

At Kenmore Law Group, we are dedicated to making our expertise accessible to all injured parties; therefore, we offer free legal services. Our free legal services include free consultations and free second opinions. During our free legal services, our experienced escalator accident attorneys will be available to answer all your questions and address all your concerns. Our lawyers will provide you with the necessary information to start or continue your escalator injury claim and recover the compensation that you are owed. If you are ready to benefit from the free legal services that we offer, do not hesitate to contact us immediately.

Kenmore Law Group offers a Zero-Fee guarantee, which means that our clients will not be required to pay any upfront legal fees to speak with our attorneys. Our firm is based on contingency; therefore, our clients will not be required to pay anything until after the claim is successful. If you do not win, you will not be required to pay anything.

If you are ready to discuss your right to pursue an escalator injury claim, contact the escalator injury attorneys at our firm today.