Tag Archives: escalator

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

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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.

Read the full story by the Sydney Morning Herald, published December 21, 2012.

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.

Modern escalators are equipped with safety devices that would normally prevent either scenario from causing serious injuries. For example, if the boy’s fingers were trapped in the comb plate, a comb plate safety switch would normally detect that a foreign object (such as the boy’s fingers) were trapped in the comb plate, causing the comb plate to rise, and stopping the escalator. However, because a toddler’s fingers are particularly delicate, it is plausible that the safety devices, if they were present, were not activated because even a small amount of force would still cause severe trauma.

We will publish updates on this story should they become available.

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

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The Seattle Times and Q13 FOX News are reporting an escalator malfunction in the Macy’s at Bellevue Square shopping center, in Bellevue, Washington.

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. Interestingly, both articles include a photo posted on Twitter by an apparent witness. That photo, which was allegedly taken immediately after the incident, clearly depicts the escalator with some of its steps removed, a bystander at the top landing actually holding a step, and with bystanders crowding around the broken escalator. A stroller is seen laying on its side at the top of the frame, behind a crowd. The articles note that a 3-year old was hospitalized as a precaution after the accident, however, it was not clear at the time of writing whether the stroller was involved with the accident.

Escalators are required to be equipped with numerous safety switches that detect potentially hazardous conditions and safely stop the escalator to prevent injuries and equipment damage, for example, a comb impact device, which detects when a step is impacting the comb teeth at the landing.

Read the full story by the Seattle Times, and the full story published Q13 FOX News, both published December 6, 2012.

On December 7, 2012, Bellevue Patch published an article with some additional information. According to that article, the Macy’s was built in 1982 and the escalator was first inspected in 1983. The violation history for the escalator was apparently rather tame, citing only burnt out demarcation lighting and broken comb teeth over the last two years. Both violations are extremely common and not necessarily indicative of anything. That article also notes that Schindler was the escalator contractor at the time of the incident.

The Patch article also notes that the ground floor escalator, which was apparently running in the up direction, malfunctioned “[causing] the top of the steps to pile up.”

Atlantic City, NJ – Englishman hung 40 feet in the air after clothing caught by Revel escalator

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According to the Press of Atlantic City, an Englishman allegedly dangled 40 feet in the air after his clothing became caught in an escalator at the Revel Resort and Hotel on August 24, 2012. A lawsuit seeking $75,000 in damages alleges that the victim, Mr. Christopher Eades, who was a guest at the time of the incident, was standing near the escalator on the second floor when part of his clothing became caught in the ascending handrail. The lawsuit goes on to say the victim “was suddenly and precipitously pulled over the railing of the area in which he was then and there standing.” Bystanders eventually rescued the victim, who was then treated for a fractured left leg and knee, in addition to other minor injuries. Court records indicate that the case has been referred to arbitration, and a representative of the resort, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, declined to comment.

The victim’s lawyer was quoted as saying “Revel resort features a huge atrium called the Ellipse which features a soaring double escalator intended to dramatically, as if in mid-air, whisk the clientele from the lobby floor to a mezzanine platform. These soaring escalators were intended as a fantasy aerial lift, which seemed to defy the laws of physics but have turned out, in reality, to have failed its ambitious purpose, becoming instead, a dangerous mechanism for physical injury.” Read the full story published March 28, 2013.

This incident re-iterates the importance of paying careful attention when riding on and standing near moving equipment such as escalators and moving walks. Generally, there are no safety devices which would stop the escalator in the event that fabric became entrapped in the handrail. Escalator handrails generally provide a good amount of friction because they are intended to be gripped by riders. However, because they often exhibit such high friction, they can entrap clothing or body parts.

In addition, the subject escalators in this incident have been noted by observers for their unusually high landings. The escalators referenced in this article criss-cross an open atrium up to a height of over 120 feet. Interestingly, the balustrade (handrail) heights on the escalators are at least six inches lower than the balustrades at the landing, which is an unusual inconsistency between typical building codes and elevator codes.

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.

Buford, GA – Child injured on escalator after falling from stroller

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A young child was injured Wednesday, December 28, 2011 around 7 p.m. at the Mall of Georgia in Buford, Georgia. According to a fire official, the child fell out of a stroller while the stroller was on the escalator. The child was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for minor injuries.

This story is an unfortunate example of the very real dangers of boarding an escalator with a stroller. Although it is not directly required by the ASME A17.1, “Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators,” escalator manufacturers and building owners frequently place prominent signs near escalators warning riders not to board with strollers, walkers, or carts. Other accidents involving strollers include strollers being dropped down the escalator and strollers becoming entrapped with the escalator.

This story was originally reported by the Lilburn Mountain Park Patch on December 29, 2011.

Edinburgh, Scotland – 65 year old grandmother injured after escalator suddenly stops

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According to the Daily Record, “Violet Roberts suffered two broken wrists, a gash to her right leg and a spinal fracture” after “a woman apparently pressed the stop button on the moving stairs on December 10, 2009.”

Interestingly, the woman that was accused of pressing the emergency stop button was charged but acquitted after Ms. Roberts failed to identify the alleged perpetrator, despite the fact that the entire incident was apparently caught on CCTV camera, and despite that the alleged perpetrator’s own mother identified her daughter in the video. According to the article, Ms. Roberts “still suffers pain and discomfort every day as a result of the incident at the city’s Waverley Station three years ago.”

Read the full story by Jack Mathieson, published December 4, 2012. The Daily Record published a second story on December 5, 2012, which basically contained the same facts as the first.

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: