Faulty Escalator in WTC Oculus Leaves Riders with Lifelong Injuries

 Two men suffered permanent injuries after an escalator in the World Trade Center Oculus malfunctioned back in April and sent them crashing to the ground. According to a lawsuit the men filed in Manhattan Supreme Court Sept. 29, the escalator accident occurred the morning of April 27 when it “malfunctioned, disassembled and buckled.” DNAinfo.com reports that the men fell onto the escalator landing with hard impacts and sustained serious and permanent injuries. At the time of the incident, officials said the men walked out of the transit hub to an ambulance and were transported to an area hospital for treatment.

The lawsuit names both the Port Authority, which operates the transit hub and Otis Elevator Company, which is in charge of maintaining the escalator. The lawsuit claims that the escalator would not have malfunctioned had the Port Authority inspected and maintained it beforehand, adding that the agency knew or should have known about its hazardous operating condition before the incident. The lawsuit also claims that the Otis Elevator Company defectively manufactured and installed the escalator. Both men are seeking unspecified damages for their injuries. Neither the Port Authority nor the Otis Elevator Company has commented on the lawsuit.
What Causes Escalator Accidents?
There are approximately 10,000 escalator accident injuries in the United States each year that require emergency department treatment, according to a study done by the National Institutes of Heath (NIH). The same 2013 study also found that 62 percent of these escalator injuries occurred in public transport facilities such as subway stations and 30 percent in shopping centers.
There are a number of reasons why escalator accidents occur. In some cases body parts, clothing or objects get trapped in the gaps between the moving parts of the escalator. This causes the rider to fall on or over the escalators. Serious injuries or fatalities also occur due to escalator defects such as missing teeth on the comb plates, missing steps, etc. Also, a defectively designed escalator may have sidewalls that are not high enough to prevent riders from losing their balance and/or falling over.
Problems at the WTC Oculus Transit Hub
These are not the first accidents that have been reported at the WTC Oculus Transit Hub. In February, a 29-year-old New Jersey woman died in an escalator accident there when she lost her balance and plummeted 34 feet to the marble floor below. She suffered a head injury so severe that it resembled a gunshot wound, officials said. Workers at the Oculus have also complained that the mall and transit hub’s structure continues to leak posing serious slip-and-fall dangers to workers, visitors and commuters. They said rain formed puddles and slippery floors near balconies and elevators posing serious hazards.
Liability and Compensation Issues
Property owners, property managers and/or transit authorities etc. are responsible for the escalators and elevators on their premises and have a duty to ensure that the machines are safe for passengers to use. They must ensure that the escalators are in good working order and ensure that the necessary inspections, maintenance and repairs are performed routinely. Injured victims in such cases have the right to seek compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, hospitalization, rehabilitation, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc.
If you have been injured in an elevator or escalator accident, it would be in your best interest to file a report with the appropriate authorities, take as many photographs of the dangerous condition as possible as well as your injuries, obtain contact information for anyone who might have witnessed the incident and get prompt medical attention and care for your injuries.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an escalator or elevator accident or if you have lost a loved one in an elevator accident, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Our law firm recovered $3,000,000 for a man who fell and suffered two broken legs when he walked into an open elevator shaft. In an interview by the Canadian television station Global News after a fatal escalator accident in Montreal, Mr. Kenneth A. Wilhelm stated that the installation of emergency stop buttons that are easily located and run the entire length of the stairs could go a long way in preventing escalator accident injuries and fatalities.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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Source: https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170925/financial-district/wtc-oculus-escalator-port-authority-injuries-lawsuit