East Harlem, NY – Elderly man in critical condition after elevator crushes his legs

According to ABC 7 Eyewitness News, an 85 year-old man was left in critical condition after an elevator in his public housing apartment building crushed both his legs around 5 p.m. Sunday, December 30, 2012. Firefighters reported that when they arrived, the elevator was stuck between the first and second floor, with the man’s body inside the cab, and his legs dangling outside the cab on the first floor. Firefighters used air bags and other extrication methods to free the man’s legs and pull him up into the elevator cab. The victim was rushed to nearby Harlem Hospital where he was listed in critical condition, with both of his legs fractured. Continue reading

Chester, PA – Elevator mechanic struck, killed by falling dumbwaiter at Harrah’s Philadelphia

According to ABC 6 Action News, an elevator mechanic working on a dumbwaiter at Harrah’s Philadelphia in Chester, Pennsylvania, was killed when the dumbwaiter unexpectedly fell on top of him. The accident occurred around 4 p.m., Saturday, December 29, 2012. The 52 year-old victim from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, was an elevator contractor, not a casino employee. The incident dumbwaiter was used to deliver food to restaurants within the casino. Continue reading

Sabhan, Kuwait – Elevator mechanic killed, another injured; crushed by falling car

According to the Kuwait Times, an elevator accident left one elevator mechanic dead and another seriously injured in the Sabhan neighborhood of Kuwait. Although details of the circumstances are scant, it appears that both mechanics were working in the hoistway pit of an interior ministry building at the time the accident occurred. The elevator unexpectedly descended, crushing the two men, killing one instantly. Continue reading

Bankstown, Sydney, Australia – Toddler loses three fingers to shopping center escalator

According to numerous Australian news sources, a three-year old boy fell on an escalator at Bankstown Shopping Centre, causing him to lose three fingers when they apparently became jammed in the escalator’s moving parts. Although circumstances around the injury remain unclear, the description provided by the Sydney Morning Herald suggest that the young boy’s fingers were perhaps caught between the steps as the steps collapsed together at the destination landing. Another possibility is that the toddler fell as he approached the destination landing, and perhaps fell in such a way that his fingers were entrapped by a missing or damaged comb plate. Continue reading

Washington Heights, NY – Building superintendent trapped in pit, suffers head injury

According to the New York Post, the superintendent at a building in Washington Heights was seriously injured Thursday, August 16, 2012 when he was struck in the head by an elevator counterweight. The victim, whose name was not immediately released, went in the pit around 8:40 a.m. in order to retrieve keys that a tenant had accidentally dropped through the gap between the floor sills. The elevator had apparently ascended to the sixth floor as the counterweight descended into the pit, striking the victim’s head. Continue reading

Mount Vernon, NY – 11 year-old boy falls down elevator shaft

According to NBC New York, an 11-year old boy fell three floors down an elevator shaft around 12:30pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012. According to police, the victim and other young boys were playing in the building hallway when “the elevator doors unexpectedly opened and one of the boys fell in”. The condition of the boy was not immediately clear, but presumably the boy was hospitalized and sustained serious injury. Continue reading

Bellevue, WA – Bellevue Square Macy’s escalator rips itself apart, injuring 4

According to the Seattle Times, “Four people fell when an escalator inside Bellevue Square shopping center malfunctioned tonight, according to the Bellevue Fire Department. A man, woman and two 3-year-olds were taken to local hospitals after the 7:21 p.m. malfunction at Macy’s. The man sustained minor injuries while the three others were taken as a precaution, said Bellevue Fire spokesman Troy Donlin.” According to Q13 FOX News, the state inspectors have been notified about the incident. The cause of the incident remains unclear at this time. Continue reading

Himeji, Japan – 64 year old delivery man dies after elevator moved with doors open

According to News Limited, “a male office worker died on Monday afternoon ‘after getting stuck in a lift that suddenly descended’, a police spokesman said.” Although the exact circumstances remain unclear, it appears that the man was a deliver worker who was transporting something from one floor to another. Apparently the item he was moving became stuck in the gap between the cab and the floor landing. The man was then standing in the sill, with one foot in the car, and the other foot on the landing, when the elevator suddenly descended, apparently crushing the man. Continue reading

Nagoya, Japan – 28 year old woman dies in restaurant dumbwaiter accident

According to News On Japan, “A restaurant worker [in Nagoya, Japan] died early Monday in an accident involving a dumb waiter.” The circumstances of the 28-year-old woman’s death were unclear but she apparently had been placing dishes in the restaurant’s small dumbwaiter on Sunday evening. According to the report, the dumbwaiter only measured 70 centimeters high by 60 centimeters wide, and was designed to carry dishes between floors of the restaurant. Continue reading

Korrukkupet, Chennai, India – Man dies, two seriously injured after elevator crashes at wedding hall

According to the Times of India, a 55-year-old man died and two people were seriously injured when an elevator cable snapped in a marriage hall in Korrukkupet on Sunday afternoon. According to the report, the elevator plunged from the third floor to the ground floor after the cables gave way. It was unclear at the time of the report whether overspeed governors or other types of safety devices are required by any applicable elevator codes in India, however, according to the article, the elevator was only six months old. Continue reading