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Elevators can be dangerous without the proper safety precautions and maintenance from the property owner.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, elevators and escalators cause about 17,000 injuries and 30 deaths every year in the U.S. Elevators cause the majority, making up 90 percent of annual deaths and 60 percent of annual injuries. Whether your accident occurred on private property, a commercial building, or on a cruise ship, elevator injury cases typically follow the rules of premises liability. If you or a loved one was injured in an accident involving an elevator, reach out to a qualified Atlanta elevator injury attorney at The Dixon Firm, P.C. to learn more about your available legal options.
Premises Liability and Elevator Accidents in Georgia
Any accident that results from dangerous or defective property conditions abides by these rules. Poor maintenance, failure to warn users of a hazard, or faulty design may make an elevator dangerous. It is a property owner’s legal responsibility to maintain elevators and reasonably prevent injuries. When an elevator is due for maintenance, out of date, or not up to code, it’s the property owner’s job to remedy the situation before someone gets hurt. Property owners owe different standards of care depending on the classification of the injured person:
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Invitee
/People who have the landowner’s permission to enter a property, either expressed or implied. Invitees may be customers of a business, friends, or relatives. Property owners owe the highest standards of care to invitees and must repair known hazards, search for unknown ones, and warn of dangers that aren’t repaired. If you were injured in an elevator on a commercial property such as a bank or a mall, you were an invitee.
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Licensee
Licensees also have a landowner’s permission to enter a property but are visiting for their own purposes. Licensees may be salespeople, service technicians, or repair workers. Landowners have a duty to provide reasonably safe premises for licensees and warn them of dangerous conditions, but they do not have to actively find and repair unknown hazards.
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Trespasser
A trespasser does not have a landowner’s permission to be on a property. Unless the trespasser is a child, the property owner owes him or her no standards of care. In the case of a child trespasser, the landowner has to prevent reasonably foreseeable risks of harm.
Depending on your status as a visitor at the time of your elevator accident, you should have a basic idea of what standards of care the property owner owed you. If property owner negligence caused or contributed to your elevator injury, you may be able to receive compensation based on premises liability laws in Atlanta, GA. In other situations, an elevator manufacturer may be responsible for your injuries. In this case, your suit would follow the laws of product liability. For help understanding the differences between these two types of law and how they may relate to your case, speak with an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer.
The Dixon Firm, P.C. | Your Local Atlanta Elevator Injury Lawyers
Common elevator injuries occur from doors getting stuck open, doors opening to an empty elevator shaft, a sudden car drop, and doors closing on body parts. Elevator malfunctions can lead to pinches, scrapes, broken bones, spinal cord injuries, crush injuries, amputations, neck injuries, brain injuries, electrocution or wrongful death. One elevator accident can change your life, leading to temporary or permanent disability, lost time at work, and lost quality of life. If an elevator accident injured or killed a loved one, you have the right to pursue financial recovery.
Elevator accidents in Atlanta can involve a variety of different personal injury laws and legal theories. Negligence, premises liability, and defective products… all are possible legal remedies that may end in you receiving compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and other damages. To discuss your potential actions and the future of your case with an Atlanta elevator injury attorney, contact The Dixon Firm, P.C. by calling our office at 404-733-1166 today.
