Category Archives: Fatality

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

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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. Police confirmed that they recovered the man’s body from the dumbwaiter shaft, but did not release the victim’s identity. Read the full story by ABC 6 Action News, published December 30, 2012, and watch the video below.

Details regarding the circumstances of the accident were limited. The Philadelphia Inquirer later reported on December 31, 2012, that the 52 year-old victim from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, was a sub-contractor, not a casino employee. The incident dumbwaiter was used to deliver food to restaurants within the casino. They also noted that Chester officials and OSHA were still investigating the incident.

Generally, dumbwaiters are required to have safety systems that are comparable to the safety devices required on passenger elevators.

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

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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. Read the full story by the Kuwait Times, published December 27, 2012.

In the United States, elevators have long been required to have stop switches in the pit to prevent unexpected movement of the car when working in the pit. It is standard procedure to ensure that the elevator is under control before entering the pit or accessing the car top. Crushing accidents involving the pit often involve improperly trained personnel accessing the pit, for example to retrieve dropped keys. However it is critical that only properly trained elevator personnel enter the pit, to prevent this type of incident. It is not clear whether or not the elevator in this incident was equipped with a stop switch in the pit, or whether the mechanics had followed procedures to gain control of the elevator before entering the pit. We will update this story if more details emerge.

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

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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.

Read the full story at News.com.au, published December 3, 2012.

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

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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.

Read the full story at NewsOnJapan.com, published December 3, 2012.

According to a second article by Japan Today, “An assistant manager [at the restaurant] found her stuck in the door after she didn’t reply to his call.” The injured woman was rushed to hospital but died early Monday morning, according to authorities.

Read the full story by Japan Today, published December 3, 2012.

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

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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.

Read the full story by the Times of India, published December 3, 2012.

A follow-up article by the New Indian Express, published December 7, 2012, revealed much greater detail regarding the circumstances of the accident.

According to that article, the victims were riding the elevator when it stopped suddenly and entrapped the victims. The victims signaled for help, and in an effort to free the entrapped passengers from the elevator, untrained employees of the wedding hall apparently went into the motor room and released the elevator’s brakes, sending the elevator into a free fall. Normally, the counterweight will cause the counterweight, not the elevator cab, to free fall, however, it is possible that with the weight of four or more passengers that the counterweight’s balance might be exceeded, causing the elevator to fall downwards when the brakes were released. Interestingly, the article notes that if the employees had “phased” (or stuttered) their release of the brake, the elevator would not have fallen and the victims would not have been injured.

The New Indian Express article also includes a quote from an official that investigated the accident that described the situation:

“In their anxiety to quickly bring the occupants of the lift out, men who were not properly trained or authorised to handle the system released the lever without realising that it could lead to a free fall.”

Bellevue, WA – 24 year old man dies after three story fall from shopping mall escalator

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According to Bellevue Patch, a 24-year-old man died after falling three stories at Lincoln Square shopping center in Bellevue, Washington. A police spokeswoman stated that the man, identified as Joel Bush, attempted to ride the escalator by sitting and balancing on the handrail. The man apparently lost his balance and fell backward into the atrium, falling sixty feet. According to police, alcohol was initially suspected to be a factor but ultimately did not appear to contribute to the man’s death.

Read the full story by Bellevue Patch, published December 30, 2011.

Unfortunately despite that this scenario is completely preventable, it is rather common especially for teens and young adults to attempt to “ride” the escalator handrail, either by sitting on the handrail, or holding onto the handrail from the outside of the balustrade. It is interesting to note that escalator handrails are often shorter than the permanent railings that protect an atrium’s open space.

Manhattan, NY – Suzanne Hart fatally crushed in freak elevator accident

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According to multiple sources, 41-year old ad executive Suzanne Hart was killed around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 14, 2011, while she boarded an elevator on the ground floor at 285 Madison Avenue when the elevator moved up suddenly while the doors were still open, crushing her, and causing the elevator to become stuck between the first and second floors. Two witnesses were inside the elevator when the incident occurred and were subsequently treated for psychological trauma. Read the full initial report by the Wall Street Journal.

The New York City Department of Buildings investigated the incident and concluded that elevator mechanics had used wire jumpers to bypass the elevator’s door interlock circuits, allowing the elevator to move with its doors open. Read the full story by WABC7 Eyewitness News and watch their video report below.

It is difficult to understate how dangerous it is to bypass an elevator’s door interlocks with a wire jumper, and this case is proof that fatal accidents can, and will, occur when wire jumpers are used improperly. This case is eerily reminiscent to another accident that occurred in New York City nearly a year prior, on Christmas Day, December 25, 2010, at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, in which a woman was seriously injured while boarding an elevator when the elevator moved suddenly with the doors open. In both cases, a mechanic used a wire jumper without a helper or a barricade to protect the riding public.

Long Beach, CA – Woman killed trying to escape stuck elevator at CSULB

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According to the Daily 49er, the campus newspaper at Cal State University Long Beach, Annette Lujan, 47, of Huntington Beach, California, was killed around 9 a.m. Tuesday while trying to escape a stuck elevator. Lujan was on her way to work at the Office of University Research in the Foundation Building when the elevator became stuck between floors. Lujan apparently attempted to pry the doors open and climb up to the next floor to escape, when the elevator suddenly and unexpectedly moved down, crushing her. According to police, a bystander was attempting to help Lujan out of the elevator when the accident occurred. Read the full story by the Daily 49er, published December 6, 2011, as well as a follow-up by the Daily 49er, published January 22, 2012.

According to KNBC Los Angeles, an investigation by California OSHA determined that “misjudgment” was the primary cause of the accident. The four-page report noted that elevator was built in 1994, and was extensively tested by engineers after the incident, but they were “unable to determine the causal factors and their findings were inconclusive.” A section of the report titled “human factor,” cited “misjudgment of hazardous situation” as a major factor contributing to Ms. Lujan’s death. According to the report, the moment before the fatal accident occurred, the elevator car door opened about one foot below the third floor of the building, while the elevator continued to move downward slowly. The sole witness, a student worker, said she tried to help Lujan crawl out of the elevator when it crushed her, catching her neck and shoulders. Read the full story by KNBC Los Angeles, published June 26, 2012, or watch the video below.

View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

Although elevator malfunctions and entrapments are uncommon, they are often extremely stressful for passengers that become entrapped. However, it is critical that trapped passengers call for help and wait patiently to be rescued by properly trained elevator personnel. Never try to pry the doors open if the elevator stops unexpectedly. Many newer elevators are equipped with “door restrictors,” devices which prevent passengers from opening the elevator doors when the car is not at a landing. Although door restrictors are required by current elevator code, they were not required in 1994.

Although elevators are designed not to run with the doors open, there are limited circumstances in which an elevator may move with the doors open, such as leveling, brake failure, or loss of hydraulic pressure. In these cases, for example, it is possible that the elevator was within the “door zone” defined by code to be approximately one foot above and below a floor, which is close enough to a landing to allow the elevator to move with the doors open. In the event an elevator’s doors open unexpectedly when the car is not at a landing, never try to climb or jump out of the elevator. Stand away from the doors and wait to be rescued by elevator personnel. Always assume that the elevator may move again unexpectedly if it has already malfunctioned. Until the malfunctioning cab has been secured by elevator personnel, there is no way to be sure the elevator is safe to exit.

Bronx, NY – Man moving mattress falls down freight elevator shaft

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According to ABC 7 Eyewitness News New York, Joseph Ryan, a 35 year-old man died around 11 p.m. Monday after plunging two stories down a freight elevator shaft in an apartment building located on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. The man was moving into a new apartment and was apparently walking backwards and carrying a mattress at the lobby level when the incident occurred. The man fell down to the basement level and suffered injuries that he succumbed to after being transported to nearby St. Barnabas Hospital. Early accounts of the accident described that the door was open but the elevator was not at the floor at the time the incident occurred. Tenants in the building noted that the freight elevator was shut down every night and that only building maintenance workers and security guards had access to the elevator.

Interestingly, the article noted that although the victim was not working at the time, he worked for a private elevator contractor during the day. The New York City Department of Buildings investigated the accident and determined that the victim had apparently used a drop key to open the hoistway door and gain access to the elevator for at least one prior trip on the elevator. The Department of Buildings also issued a violation for an apparently malfunctioning mechanical door interlock on the incident elevator. The Eyewitness News report also noted that the Department of Buildings had received a number of tenant complaints about the elevators prior to the incident including one that noted “no one uses [the elevator because] they are afraid.”

Read the full story by ABC 7 New York, published March 2, 2010, or watch the videos below.

Shiodome, Tokyo, Japan – 45 year-old man suffers fatal fall after leaning against escalator handrail

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Satoshi Katayama was killed in April 2009 after he leaned backwards against an escalator handrail which then lifted him off his feet and over the the handrail, dropping him to his death into an open atrium nearly 30 feet high. Surveillance video of the incident depicts the victim briefly leaning against the handrail before being carried over the balustrade and falling to his death. The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Japan’s Consumer Safety Investigation Commission is reviewing the accident as of June 27, 2013, in light of the recently published results of an investigation by the Japanese Ministry of Land. The Land Ministry investigation concluded that safety barriers could have prevented the accident, but noted that the Japanese Building Standards Law did not require their installation.

Sources reporting this story include: