Austin Premises LiabilityElevator Injuries

Austin Elevator Accidents Attorney

A faulty elevator is the stuff of nightmares and phobias. If you’ve experienced an elevator malfunction personally, then you know the terror one feels when an elevator gets stuck or collapses. These incidents happen more often than most people realize and, when they do, someone should be held accountable for the harm suffered by elevator occupants.

Chip Evans handles premises liability claims in Austin, TX. He’s helped clients recover costs they’ve faced from unsafe property conditions. If you’ve been injured or lost a loved one in an elevator accident in Texas, contact Chip Evans and schedule a free consultation.

How Common are Elevator Accidents?

About 30 people die and 17,000 people are seriously injured every year in the U.S. due to elevator and escalators accidents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ninety percent of those deaths and 60 percent of those injuries stem from incidents involving elevators.

Who is Responsible for an Elevator’s Safety?

Elevator users and workers who work on or near elevators are at risk for serious injury and death when an elevator isn’t properly maintained or when it is poorly made. Elevator maintenance is a task required by a property’s owners, managers and supervisors, while elevator design safety is a responsibility of the manufacturer.

If a faulty or poorly maintained elevator causes an injury or death, the parties responsible for the elevator’s safety can be held accountable through product liability or premises liability claims. If a worker is injured while working on or near an elevator, they deserve compensation for the costs of that injury.

Legal Options for Elevator Occupants

Premises liability claims stem from injuries due to unsafe property conditions.  Elevator accidents are often due to inadequate maintenance, which puts the liability squarely on the shoulders of the owner or manager of the elevator.

If an elevator’s design is the cause of an incident, the manufacturer should compensate the occupant or the occupant’s family for the costs the injury or death has caused. If you’ve been injured or lost a family member in an elevator accident, you should know that you don’t need to know exactly who was at fault for the accident. Your attorney will investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident to determine who was at fault.

Austin elevator accident attorney Chip Evans can help you find out who should be named in a lawsuit and how much you should seek in damages. Contact our premises liability attorneys today to learn more about your options.

Legal Options for Workers

About half of all elevator-related fatalities are workers who are working on or near the elevator. Workers should be trained to work around elevators, and proper safety measures should be taken by their employers. If a worker is severely or fatally injured because of unsafe work conditions or due to inadequate training, their employer or company that hired them owes compensation for the costs that worker or worker’s family faces.

The most common causes of elevator-related work injuries include…

• Falls down an elevator shaft
• Being caught in/between moving parts of elevators
• Working in or on elevators or platforms that collapse
• Being struck by elevators or counterweights.

Some injured workers might be eligible for workers’ compensation; even if they are independent contractors, they can still seek compensation through personal injury or third-party claims.

Chip Evans represents injured workers in Texas to make sure they get the compensation they deserve. If you’ve been injured in a workplace accident involving an elevator, contact us today to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation.

Elevator Accident Injuries

As you can imagine, the injuries sustained in an elevator accident can be some of the most painful and costly imaginable. They include:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Complex bone fractures
• Extensive soft-tissue damage
• Internal injuries
• Death.

Elevator accidents are traumatic events and are likely to cause significant psychological and emotional damage. All these injuries, mental and physical, take a great toll on people’s lives, which is why it is so important to make sure that all responsible parties are held accountable for the harm elevator accident victims have suffered.

Damages in Elevator Accident Cases

“Damages” are the costs of an accident that the at-fault party is asked to pay for in an injury claim. Damages include:

• Medical bills
• Ongoing medical expenses
• Lost income
• Pain, suffering and other non-economic damages.

In wrongful death claims, surviving family members of a deceased person can seek compensation from the at-fault party for the costs they face; in addition to the costs listed above, these also include burial and funeral expenses.

Contact Chip Evans to Learn More

Chip Evans has years of experience helping injured clients get the payment they deserve. He handles premises liability, personal injury, worker injury and wrongful death claims in Texas.

If you or your loved one has been seriously injured in an elevator accident in Austin or anywhere in Texas, don’t hesitate to contact Chip Evans to talk to an experienced advocate who makes sure his clients get compensation that reflects their needs.

Contact the Evans/Reilley Law Firm today to schedule a free consultation.