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Escalator Or Lift Accident Claims Guide

By Lewis Cobain. Last Updated 10th March 2023. Escalator or lift injury claims may be possible if you are injured in an accident involving either and it was caused by another party’s negligence.

Escalator and lift accident claims

Escalator accident

Whether you’ve been injured as a result of a faulty mechanism, or lack of maintenance on these important but potentially risky mechanical transport units, or you’ve had a slip, trip or fall on an escalator which was caused by uneven matting or a spillage, the consequences can be severe. Should this have been due to negligence or fault of a company or individual, then you may be able to claim for compensation.

Here at Legal Expert, we have experience handling lift injury claims, and we’re here to bring you the facts about elevator or escalator injury claims. Please read on to learn more about how accidents involving escalator or lifts may occur because of another party’s negligence. We’ll also talk you through the steps to follow if you have evidence to support a potential injury claim following an escalator or lift accident. If you’d like to ask an advisor any questions about things such as the personal injury claims time limit, then you can ring 0800 073 8804. Alternatively, you can reach us online using our claim online form or our 24/7 live chat service.

Select A Section

  1. What Is An Escalator Or Lift Injury?
  2. Lift Accidents – Common Causes Of Lift Injuries
  3. How Do Escalator Accidents Happen?
  4. Lift Or Escalator Injury At Work – When Could I Claim?
  5. Lift And Escalator Injuries – What Evidence Do I Need?
  6. Compensation Calculator For Lift And Escalator Accidents
  7. No Win No Fee Escalator Accidents Solicitors
  8. Helpful Resources

What Is An Escalator Or Lift Injury?

Following an escalator accident, you may suffer either a physical or psychological injury. For example, lift accidents could trigger symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Additionally, if you were to fall down an escalator, you might suffer a broken hip injury.

However, in order to successfully claim for an escalator or lift injury, you will need to prove that your accident was caused due to a breach of duty of care. The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 sets out the duty of care that occupiers of a premise owe to visitors. If this duty of care is neglected and you subsequently suffer harm, you may have grounds for a valid claim.

Following an accident in a lift, a breakdown of the personal injury claims process can be given free of charge by our advisors. Get in touch for more information.

Lift Accidents – Common Causes Of Lift Injuries

Lift accidents can cause significant injuries if a lift is not adequately maintained. For example, if a malfunction happens because a broken motor has not been repaired, you might become stuck in a lift. Even if you are stuck in an elevator for a short period of time, the anxiety and distress it may cause could result in a significant psychological injury.

Other common causes of lift injuries include:

  • You trip or fall because the lift car stops and is not aligned with the floor
  • A lift may rapidly halt and the sudden shock of this causes you knee pain
  • If a lift is mopped but there is no wet floor sign, you might sustain a slip injury
  • Your limbs could become trapped in the doors of a lift if its safety mechanisms malfunction

However, it’s important to understand that you are only able to claim for lift accidents if your injuries were caused by the negligence of a third party, such as the operator of the lift. As such, if an accident happens in which the operator had no way of preventing it, you might not be eligible to claim. However, we would still recommend speaking to our advisors and they can verify the validity of your claim completely free of charge.

Below we have listed some examples of how negligence could result in lift accidents that cause you injuries:

  • Regular maintenance checks aren’t carried out
  • Staff have a lack of training
  • Any identified risks were not fixed in a timely manner

If you can prove that the lift operators failed in their duty to take reasonable care and caused you injury, you might have grounds for a valid claim.

Our advisors are available for free consultations with no obligation – get in touch at any time.

How Do Escalator Accidents Happen?

While fully functional escalators are usually safe when used correctly, an accident and injuries could potentially occur if they develop a fault. A sudden stopping, even if it does not propel you off the escalator, could cause you to bump into the edges, or fall down a step or two, perhaps even falling into another person.

Other causes of injury could be:

  • Missing escalator teeth on the track
  • Giving way of panel
  • Loose or missing screws
  • Gap between walkway and escalator floor

Again, should your injury not be on this list, it doesn’t mean you won’t have a claim. Simply contact the team at Legal Expert and we’ll clarify your position.

Lift Or Escalator Injury At Work – When Could I Claim?

In order to make a claim for a lift accident at work you have to be able to establish negligence. Negligence occurs when your employer breaches their duty of care, and because of this breach, you suffer harm. 

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers owe their employees a duty of care. This means that they must take all reasonably practicable steps to keep them safe while working. If they fail to do so, and this results in harm, you may be able to make a workplace injury claim.

In some circumstances, your employer may not be responsible for the lifts or escalators in your workplace, in which case you may not be able to claim for a lift or escalator accident. To find out more about when you can claim for lift accidents at work, contact our team today.

Time Limits For Escalator And Lift Accident Claims

With escalator or lift injury claims, as with any type of personal injury claim, you’ll need to make sure that you take action within the limitation period. The Limitation Act 1980 sets out that you have three years from the date that you were injured. However, there are some exceptions.

For example, for claims for lift accidents involving a minor, the time limit is suspended until their 18th birthday. They would then have until they turned 21 to bring forward a claim. Additionally, if a person does not have the mental capacity to start a claim on their own, the time limit is suspended indefinitely. If they regain their mental capacity, they will have three years from the recovery date to claim themselves.

In the circumstances mentioned above, a litigation friend can act on behalf of the claimant while the time limit is paused. An application needs to be made to the court in order to act as a litigation friend and claim on behalf of someone else.

Contact our advisors when you are ready to take action. They can potentially connect you with an expert personal injury solicitor from our panel.

Lift And Escalator Injuries – What Evidence Do I Need?

As part of the escalator or lift injury claims process, you should gather evidence to support your personal injury compensation claim. For example:

  • Witness contact details – You can ask for the name and contact details of anyone who witnessed the accident and can provide a statement about what happened.
  • Photographic evidence – Take photographs of any physical injuries, for example, if you have a laceration or scarring.
  • CCTV footage – You could request footage of the accident.
  • Medical evidence – Ask for your medical records as they can hold information on your injuries and any treatment you have required as a result.
  • Proof of financial harm – When you claim for financial loses caused by your injuries under special damages, such as prescription fees, you’ll need to provide evidence of these. You can do so by keeping hold of receipts or invoices.

For more information on the evidence you could gather when claiming for lift accidents, get in touch on the number above.

Compensation Calculator For Lift And Escalator Accidents

You may want to use a compensation calculator to get a better idea of your potential compensation amount. However, due to the complexities of a personal injury claim, online calculators may not be entirely accurate. If you’ve been injured in an escalator accident due to third-party negligence, there are many factors to consider when calculating how much you could receive.

As such, we have gathered information from the Judicial College Guidelines below to provide further insight. The Judicial College have created compensation brackets based on the type and severity of injuries that may be included in successful personal injury cases. These figures have been taken from the latest edition of the guidelines, published in 2022.

Please remember that these figures are not guaranteed as every claim is unique. Furthermore, the figures only relate to successful payouts that have occurred in England and Wales.

Edit
What injury have you had? Typical lift injury or escalator injury payout bracket More Information
Psychiatric damages (severe) £54,830 to £115,730 The prognosis will determine the payout amount but this is for those people who cannot go on to live the life they did before previous to the incident.
Psychiatric damages (moderately acute) £19,070 to £54,830 Slightly more optimistic prognosis but lasting effects on day to day living
Psychiatric damages (moderate) £5,860 to £19,070 Marked improvements in the personÕs ability to go on with day to day life by the time the claim is concluded
Psychiatric damages that are less acute £1,540 to £5,860 Sleep effects, length of suffering etc. will be calculated.
Severe shoulder injury £19,200 to £48,030 Brachial plexus damage.
Injury/ies to the neck (moderate i) £24,990 to £38,490 Length of pain and suffering will be analysed as well as prognosis for recovery
Minor head injury £2,210 to £12,770 Lasting a few weeks.
Minor damages to wrists £3,530 to £4,740 Usually these are damages to tissue and will heal pretty quickly.
Mental anguish £4,670 Fear of impending death.

The above only relates to potential general damages amounts for injuries that could be caused in a lift accident. However, this list is not exhaustive. To learn more about claiming or if you want a compensation estimate that relates to your specific injury, please contact us for free at any time.

No Win No Fee Escalator Accidents Solicitors

Accident claim solicitors could help you secure personal injury compensation by preparing evidence and covering all bases of your claim. If you have concerns about the fees associated with working with solicitors that need payment upfront, a No Win No Fee solicitor could benefit you.

Under this agreement, you are only responsible for paying your solicitor a success fee if they help you settle your escalator accidents claim. The success fee is deducted from your compensation by your solicitor. This is legally capped under the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013. If your claim fails, you don’t have to worry about paying their fees.

To speak to an advisor for more help with making a claim for an escalator or lift accident, all you need to do is contact us via one of the following means:

  • You can call our helpline – 0800 073 8804
  • Our email – info@legalexpert.co.uk
  • Our contact form
  • Or, you can use our online chat box in the bottom right corner

Helpful Resources

Below, you’ll find a few links that might help you even more than the guide above. These contain information relevant to your lift injury. We hope you find them of interest.

Accident at work claims

Our guide to work accident claims should give you more information about claiming against employers.

Public place accidents

Other ways you can be injured in a public place.

Personal Injury Claims

Our general guide to the process.

NHS – PTSD

The NHS PTSD Page may help if you’re suffering after your experience.

CCTV Request Form

If your accident was captured on CCTV then you could use it as evidence.

Litigation Friends

Find out how someone else could make a claim on your behalf.

Other Guides That May Help

Would you like to speak to an advisor about escalator or lift injury claims? If so, you are welcome to contact the Legal Expert team using the contact details included in this guide.

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    • Patrick Mallon

      Patrick is a Grade A solicitor having qualified in 2005. He's an an expert in accident at work and public liability claims and is currently our head of the EL/PL department. Get in touch today for free to see how we can help you.