Are you among those who avoid using elevators or escalators out of fear and instead choose to utEscalator Deaths and Injury Resultationsg to the group that makes fun of folks who choose to walk instead than use an escalator or elevator? It seems that a dread of escalators and elevators could be justified. An average of thirty individuals each year pass away from injuries sustained on elevators or escalators, according to the CDC. 17,000 more people have major injuries.

The force of the mechanisms and the vulnerabiliAccidents on Escalatorsesult in exceptionally horrific injuries and fatalities from elevator and escalator accidents.

Safety experts frequently recommend: To avoid walking into a vacuum, take a moment to make sure the elevator car is there before stepping inside. Furthermore, take care of loose clothing near escalators to avoid it being tangled in the moving steps.

For sympathetic legal advice and to arrange a free consultation, call the knowledgeable Chicago escalator accident lawyer at bsnews1 in Chicago at (312) 766-1000 if you or a loved one has been hurt in an escalator accident. Additionally, you can use our online contact form. Allow our committed personal injury experts to assist you in determining your legal choices and fighting to get the most money possible for your injuries.

Elevator Deaths and Injury Statistics

The Center for Construction Research and Training released a report in 2018 regarding escalator and elevator accidents (CPWR). The group looked at both elevator passenger fatalities and injuries as well as deaths and injuries to people who worked in or around elevators.

Labor fatalities and injuries occurring near or on elevators

There were forty-five fatalities of persons working on or near elevators between 1982 and 2010. The incidents fall into the following categories:

• 26 employees went down an elevator shaft and died.
• Eight were either struck by an elevator or became trapped in its parts.
• When the elevator they were in collapsed, four people died.
• Three employees suffered electrocution.
• Four passed away under “unknown circumstances.”

fatalities and injuries sustained by workers who use elevators

89 persons died between 1992 and 2009 while utilizing the elevator at their place of employment to go from one floor to another. The bulk of these fatalities happened when the elevator door opened, allowing people to enter and fall down an exposed shaft in the absence of the elevator car. Another way that people have perished is by getting trapped between the elevator door and the door shaft.

deaths and injuries among regular users of elevators

An average of five elevator riders each year died between 1997 and 2010. About half of the fatalities were caused by slip and fall incidents, which happened when passengers stumbled while entering or leaving the elevator. The remaining fatalities resulted from someone entering an unoccupied elevator shaft when the door opened, but the elevator car had not yet arrived. Illinois was the site of eight of those fatalities.

Escalator Fatalities and Injuries

It was not reported that any escalator workers died while riding the system. 39 persons died throughout the study period, or two per year, among frequent passengers who were not at work. Illinois was the location of six of those. Falls were the cause of over one-third of the deaths. The remaining incidents are known as “caught-in-between” incidents, denoting that a person’s garment became stuck between a sidewall or an escalator stair before they died.

Escalator Injuries

A study on elevator and escalator injuries was conducted by Safety Research and Strategies (SRS). It was discovered that even though there are more elevators than escalators in the United States, the likelihood of suffering an injury from an escalator is fifteen times higher than that of an elevator mishap.

Falls account for more than three-fourths of escalator injuries, resulting in serious injuries and occasionally fatalities. The most frequent casualties of escalator falls are little children and people 65 years of age or older. Some people tumble onto or off the escalator, while others lean too far over the edge and tumble off the escalator onto the ground below.

Mistakes in the Design of Elevators and Escalators Participate in Mishaps

Numerous suggestions for enhancing elevator safety are included in the CPWR report. They’re all about better elevator design and upkeep.

According to several consultants, escalators require improved design. For instance, some engineers argue that the steps are too narrow and go too quickly. According to one expert, escalator designs have not altered significantly over the years. Errors in the design would reduce the number of escalator injuries and prevent entrapments between the steps. There would be less chance of the escalator becoming overloaded, which would help decrease accidents.