7-Year-Old Ohio Boy Dies In Elevator Accident
We are terribly saddened to hear that another child has died as a result of a defective home elevator. This tragedy occurred at a rental home in the Outer Banks area of North Carolina where the Ohio family was visiting. (Click here for news report). Our hearts go out to this family as they deal with this terrible loss.
This needless tragedy should have never happened as the elevator industry has known of the defects and deadly gap that exist in home elevators for 70+ years and have refused to do anything about it. Our firm knows this through our work in representing several families of children who have died or been catastrophically injured as a result of the deadly gap.
Our knowledge of the subject defect began when representing the Helveys in a 2011 lawsuit against ThyssenKrupp for the catastrophic crush injuries suffered by their 3-year-old son, Jacob Helvey. Upon learning of the widespread defect, CKF began our fight for a national industry-wide recall, filing a petition in 2013 with the CPSC for a national recall and flying to Washington D.C. several times to argue our case before the federal agency. Through our work in representing the Helveys, we not only learned of the defect, but our experts identified easy and affordable “fixes” that could prevent these tragedies through the use of space guards and/or electronic detection devices that would disable the elevator should a child become entrapped between the doors.
Our work on this issue has produced some important results. To start with, the elevator industry organization that writes the standards for home elevator design and construction tightened the design requirements in an effort to eliminate this gap. In addition, home elevator designers and manufacturers around the U.S. began utilizing important safety devices on new home elevators. Yet nothing has been done to date to address the hundreds of thousands of home elevators out there which continue to pose a risk of serious injury or death to children.
Until more is done, these terrible tragedies will continue. We at CKF will continue to fight for a full recall and to hold the elevator industry responsible. Again, our thoughts and prayers go out to this family.
National Elevator Accident Lawyers
If you or a loved one were seriously hurt in a home elevator accident, contact the lawyers at Cash Krugler Fredericks for a consultation about your case. Let our experienced elevator accident attorneys handle your case while you and your family focus on healing and recovery.
