Home > Personal Injury > Injuries in Public Places > Escalator and Lift Accidents

 

Accident Compensation for Escalator and Lift Injuries

If you or a member of your family is suffering from a personal injury caused by an accident in a lift or on an escalator, our specialist personal injury lawyers may be able to help you claim compensation. Contact us today on 0800 032 8511 for claim advice, or by completing a claim enquiry form.

Accidents on Escalators and Lifts
Personal Injury Claims
Compensation
Our Personal Injury Lawyers

Accidents on Escalators and Lifts

Generally, using an escalator or lift is perfectly safe. They can be very useful and we come across them in various situations, for example at work, in shops and supermarkets, airports, hotels and car parks. Unfortunately however, as with any machinery, if they are not correctly maintained and checked for safety, things can go wrong.

It may be possible to make a claim for damages if you are injured as the result of a malfunction or defect. For example if the doors of a lift do not recognise that there is a user blocking their path, closing onto someone, or if the lift car does not stop in line with the floor causing a tripping hazard. Similarly, if an emergency stop mechanism fails to activate on an escalator, injuries can be caused.

[Back to Top]

Personal Injury Claims

In the event of a personal injury caused by an accident on an escalator or lift, it is important to seek prompt medical advice, remembering to record details of any treatment. It is also useful to take note of as much information as possible, including witness information and details of the accident, and to ensure that the incident is recorded in any available accident book.

Details and receipts for any injury related expenses that you incur will also be helpful to any future claim.

In order to make a successful personal injury claim for an accident on an escalator or in a lift, it is always advisable to seek specialist legal advice from an experienced personal injury solicitor. In every case, medical evidence will be required, and it is necessary to show that the person you are making a claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (were negligent), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence.

[Back to Top]

Compensation

There are two elements to a compensation award. The first is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and what is known as loss of amenity. This is called general damages and can include an award for your inability to do things after the accident that you used to be able to do before, eg, wash your car, look after your garden, walk the dog, etc. The award for loss of amenity can be for a short period after an accident or for ever if that is what the medical evidence supports.

The second element of a compensation award is for your losses and expenses and is known as special damages. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to the accident, so that these can be reclaimed. The aim is to put you back in a position financially as if the accident had never occurred.

[Back to Top]

Our Personal Injury Lawyers

The Legal Line lawyers are experts in all areas of personal injury, with extensive experience in recovering compensation for the victims of accidents in lifts or escalators. They can provide specialist accident claim advice, assistance and guidance in helping you to pursue your claim to the best possible outcome.

Examples of some of the many cases we have handled involving accidents on escalators, travelators and lifts can be found below, or in our news and success stories sections:

• At the time our client was injured, she was standing on a moving travelator within a shopping centre. The weather conditions that day had been very wet, however there were no signs in place to warn users that the metal travelator was slippery. The shopping centre also had insufficient measures in place to ensure that water was not walked onto it and the client was told after the accident that she was not the first person to have fallen.

  Even though she was standing still and holding on to the handrail, her foot slipped and she fell, as a result of which she fractured her left ankle. Our client had to take time off from work because of her injury and needed help with getting around and daily activities such as making meals until she was back on her feet.

  Our lawyers were appointed to assist her in making a personal injury claim for this accident in a public place and, even though the defendants persistently tried to deny that they were responsible, our solicitors used their expertise in such cases to secure £6,000 compensation on her behalf.

[Back to Top]