An elevator or escalator is an easy way to get from floor to floor in a shopping mall, airport, casino, or office building.

However, people are injured or killed each year in elevator and escalator accidents.

Incidents involving elevators and escalators kill about 30 and seriously injure about 17,000 people each year in the United States, according to data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The (CPSC) reports that an average of 6,000 people each year are injured on escalators. Elevator injuries are more common, with more than 10,000 accidents involving injuries each year.

Most injuries involving elevators or escalators result from machine malfunction or human mistakes.

• A woman died in an escalator accident at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on Aug. 1. Police said a woman was sitting on an escalator railing at the stadium and fell to the concourse below.

• On July 20, Hugo Sanchez Marquez, a paralegal attending the opening night of The Weeknd’s 2022 tour in Philadelphia, died after falling nearly 40 feet off an escalator. Witnesses said he was sitting on an escalator rail at Lincoln Financial Field and suffered head trauma in the fall.

• In 2009, a malfunctioning escalator at Scottrade Center (now Enterprise Center) in St. Louis, Missouri resulted in 13 injuries at a hockey game when fans were riding the down escalator and part of it collapsed.

Elevators and escalators are large pieces of equipment and need regular inspection and maintenance.

Because of inspections and maintenance, malfunctions do happen – but they are rare.

• In 2020 in Boston, MA, a woman died when the elevator she was on descended unexpectedly and she became trapped in the closed doors.
• In August 2019, a New York City resident died when the elevator in his apartment complex descended as he tried to get out. The incident was caused by an elevator that was not operating properly and the apartment complex had been cited but failed to shut down elevator access for repairs.
• In 2009, a malfunctioning escalator at Scottrade Center (now Enterprise Center) in St. Louis, Missouri resulted in 13 injuries at a hockey game when fans were riding the down escalator and part of it collapsed.

Common causes of escalator accidents include:

• An escalator or elevator stops abruptly and a rider falls.
• In some rare cases, escalator steps can drop out, causing the rider to fall.
• A piece of clothing becomes stuck in an escalator step.
• The steps have stopped and a person tries to climb them on their own.
• A person is intoxicated and falls after losing balance.

Common Causes of Elevator Accidents:

• Mis-leveling. This is one of the most common causes of accidents on elevators.
• Defective sliding doors.
• High speed.
• Pulley system malfunction.
• Lack of maintenance and repair.

Anyone who is injured on an elevator or escalator should seek medical treatment and report the injury to security officials at the mall, airport, or building.

Cooper Levenson is a full-service law firm established in 1957. The firm includes 70 attorneys with offices in Atlantic City and Cherry Hill, N.J.; New York, N.Y.; Wilmington, Del.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla, and Las Vegas, Nev. Randolph Lafferty, and Kathleen Beers are personal injury attorneys and can be reached at (609) 572-7788.