Home Elevator Accident Attorney

There are many issues that can cause or contribute to the failure of a home elevator and result in injuries to a user. While the basic premise of an elevator or lift from one floor to another has been in use for centuries, today’s home elevators are a complex combination of mechanical and electronic components. They require service and routine care as well as careful use to ensure they are not overloaded or misused. Without this care, the unit can become very hazardous to users. Even a minor malfunction could cause a door to suddenly close with extreme force and harm a passenger entering or exiting the elevator car.

Common issues that are typically found to be the root cause of most home elevator accidents include:

• Damaged or miscalibrated sensors cause the elevator to stop at the wrong level, causing the floor of the elevator to be misaligned with the hallway floor
• Damaged or worn-out sensors on the doors that cause the doors to close when there is a person entering or exiting the elevator
• Damage to the mechanical system lifting or lowering the elevator car causes shaking or lurching motions that often cause the occupants in the elevator to fall and suffer harm
• Crushing injuries can occur when a person sticks their hand in the closing elevator doors to try to stop them from closing – if the sensor does not or cannot stop the motion of the door in time, the person can be severely hurt
• Cable or chain issues can result in the elevator dropping in the shaft and crashing to the floor below

While you might think that these smaller elevators in homes are far less dangerous than those in a high-rise in LA, they can still inflict a great deal of harm to occupants or users if the system malfunctions.

When you think about premises liability and the responsibilities of a property owner, the liability for a home elevator injury incident appears to be very simple. The property owner is ultimately responsible for the care and maintenance of all the features in the space, including a home elevator. If they failed to have the unit serviced, inspected, or repaired as needed, they would be held accountable if an innocent guest or employee was hurt in a home elevator accident.

However, there are other parties that could have partial or complete responsibility when the property owner is not handling the care and upkeep of the house. For example, a house manager or property management company could be responsible for the maintenance or scheduling of the maintenance of the house and the elevator. If they fail to book the appointment or authorize repairs of a known hazard, they could be sued for their negligence and lack of meeting their duty of care obligations.

In addition, if the staff did book the appointment but the service company failed to properly make a repair or discover damage to the unit, then they could have been negligent in their duty to provide this vital service, which ensures the safety of the elevator function. If you feel that the harm you suffered in a home elevator accident was due to negligence by one or more of the parties legally obligated to care for the unit, please get in touch with DTLA Law Group to discuss your ability to file a lawsuit to secure the compensation needed to cover your losses and expenses created by this injury incident.

Unfortunately, many of the injuries reported as a result of a home elevator accident are severe and life-altering. The age and overall health of the injury victim will have an impact on the severity of the harm and how it will alter their life in the future. But in general, many of the injuries reported are serious and can include:

• Damage to the neck, back, or spinal cord
• Facial injuries to the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, or sensitive skin on the face
• Partial or complete amputations
• Compound fractures
• Shattered bones
• Complete joint dislocations and destruction of the soft connective tissue of the joints
• Soft tissue damage and destruction of nerves
• Severe puncture wounds and lacerations that involve damage to internal organs or internal bleeding
• Head injuries that can result in a skull fracture, severe concussion, brain bleed, or other traumatic brain injuries

After suffering injuries in a home elevator accident, you are sure to be concerned about the cost of your medical care and inability to work and pay your bill. However, the home elevator accident attorneys at DTLA Law Group will only be able to provide a reasonable estimated value of the lawsuit once they have a significant amount of information. These cases never award a predetermined amount to an injury victim. Instead, the compensation the court awards is based on the actual losses and expenses incurred by the victim.

Working with your DTLA Law Group home elevator accident attorney, you will compile all the documentation to verify your allowable expenses created by the injury incident. Those amounts will be compiled to determine the compensation you receive. The items most often used in the valuation process include but are not always limited to:

• The replacement cost of any personal property that was damaged or destroyed in the home elevator accident
• Your lost income if the harm you suffered prevents you from working at your regular job until you are fully healed and have been cleared by your medical team to complete the tasks required by the job
• All current and projected medical expenses related to the harm suffered in the home elevator accident and any emotional therapy or counseling needed to overcome the stress and trauma caused by the incident and your injuries
• All legal costs associated with preparing, filing, and litigating your home elevator accident injury lawsuit

As the victim of personal injuries sustained in a home elevator accident, you have two years from the date of the incident to file a claim with the court. The time limit is strictly enforced, and you will lose the right to pursue legal action once it has expired. In addition, there are minimal exceptions that would provide a victim added time to take legal action once the original time limit has passed. Please reach out to DTLA Law Group today to discuss the time remaining for you to file your lawsuit.

When you hire DTLA Law Group to handle your home elevator accident lawsuit, we never ask for any out-of-pocket payments. Instead, you only pay for our time and expenses once the case is completed, and you have the compensation that includes funds to cover legal costs. Finally, if your home elevator accident attorney at DTLA Law Group fails to win your case and deliver the funds needed to cover your legal expenses and costs, you owe the firm nothing. Please contact the office of DTLA Law Group today to learn more about your rights as the victim of a home elevator accident and how we will help you overcome this troubling incident.