The escalator was missing an accessible emergency stop button

A child was brutally injured in a Chicagoland shopping mall when his hand was caught between the step and side of a moving escalator. He was dragged 20 feet down while bystanders searched desperately for a way to halt the escalator. Shockingly, the escalator lacked a high-mount emergency stop button and the child’s fingers were continuously twisted and mangled before the escalator stopped moving. The child lost two fingers.

An accessible emergency stop button could have minimized the child’s injuries.

The attorneys from Phillips Law Offices who handled the ensuing litigation hired Liberty Elevator Experts as part of their investigation into the circumstances of the accident. With their thorough knowledge of escalator operations, required inspections, and safety codes, Liberty was able to assist in determining that the building owner had been warned on multiple occasions that the 42-year-old escalators required modernization – which would have required an accessible emergency stop button that could have minimized the child’s injuries. They also determined that proper maintenance and essential cleaning of the escalator were neglected.

The litigation concluded with a $10 million settlement to assist the child with his subsequent disability.