Safety of Texas Elevators Called Into Question by News Investigation

November 4, 2019  |  Serious Accidents
Elevators

In a recent investigation by Dallas-area news station, WFAA, numerous questions were raised about the safety of passenger elevators nationwide and specifically in the state of Texas. Texas has had some horrifying cases of elevator malfunctions, including an incident in 2003 when Dr. Hitoshi Nikaidoh was decapitated by an elevator at a Houston hospital, and more recently in January 2019 Carren Stratford, a nurse at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, was nearly crushed to death by a malfunctioning hospital elevator.

The media report found that since 2004, nearly half of all elevator accidents in Texas occurred in Dallas and Fort Worth and of those accidents about one third occurred at hospitals.

When we use elevators in our daily lives we generally trust they will work properly and safely. State law requires all elevators to be inspected every year, but WFFA found this isn’t necessarily what is happening.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation says 14% of all elevators are overdue for their annual inspection and in some cases the validity of the inspections is questionable. WFAA determined there were several errors in the state’s elevator database and some inspectors even faked inspections.

The state does not employ elevator inspectors. Inspections are done by contractors with varying levels of training, quality, and experience. Every year on average elevators kill 5 people and injure 940 nationwide. Attorneys at Baron & Budd are representing an individual who was seriously injured by an elevator malfunction in Plano, Texas. When elevators are not properly inspected and maintained, people can be critically injured or even killed.

Contact Baron & Budd

Baron & Budd has a long history of pursuing legal action on behalf of people who have been injured or killed in a serious accident and may be able to put its substantial amount of experience and resources to work for you. Our law firm represents people nationwide. For more information on how we can help, you can get started online or call 866-750-3386 to speak with a lawyer about filing a lawsuit for compensation.

Source: WFAA

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