Escalator Accident Sparks Personal Injury Lawsuit

Q: Who is responsible for injuries in an escalator accident?

Personal injury lawsuits often result from nightmarish scenarios. Such was the case for a father who held his three-year-old daughter in one arm and a bucket that held her two severed fingers in the other after an escalator accident.

In a lawsuit filed against the store and escalator manufacturer are allegations that the store failed to properly maintain the escalator and that “the safety switches did not stop the escalator from functioning after the girl’s fingers got caught”. Reportedly, several “comb teeth” of the steps were missing “creating a hole” into which children could stick their fingers. Allegedly, the store was warned two years before the accident about the broken escalator pieces by state inspectors.

The doctrine of premises liability, within personal injury law, provides that the owner of residential or commercial premises has a duty to maintain the premises in a safe condition for those entering thereon. If the owner is aware or reasonably should have been aware of a dangerous condition and fails to remedy it, and someone is seriously injured as a result of that dangerous condition, the property owner may be liable for compensatory damages to the victim for their physical and psychological pain and other losses. The property owner’s duty varies depending on whether the person entering the property is a trespasser, licensee, or invitee.

The doctrine of product liability law, within personal injury law, provides that those injured by a dangerous or defective product may hold manufacturers liable for the injuries sustained. Sometimes defective product injuries result from a design defect, a manufacturing error, or inadequate labeling (lack of or insufficient safety instructions or warnings). If the injured party can show their physical injuries were caused by the defective product, they may be entitled to compensation.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a dangerous condition on someone else’s premises or from a defective product, the personal injury attorneys at Noland Law Firm can help maximize the compensation to which you may be entitled. Contact us today for a free consultation.

From our offices in Liberty, Missouri, we represent injured people and their families throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area and Western Missouri, including Clay County, Liberty, Blue Springs, Independence, and Gladstone.