UPDATE: Cash Krugler Fredericks – The Washington Post Reports Death of Ohio Boy in Home Elevator Accident
Continuing its coverage of the dangers of home elevators and the efforts of Cash Krugler Fredericks to force a nationwide recall, The Washington Post reported this morning on the tragic death of a 7-year-old child from Ohio who was killed as a result of the deadly gap in an elevator at a vacation home in the Outer Banks area of North Carolina. (Washington Post article). As previously reported, the incident happened on Sunday, July 11, when the child became entrapped between the elevator’s accordion door and the hoistway, suffering catastrophic crush injuries that resulted in his death. Cash Krugler Fredericks’ partner, David Krugler, is quoted in the Post article about the ongoing concern that children will keep being injured and killed because of a problem that plagues the entire home elevator industry.
The elevator involved in this most recent tragedy was manufactured by Custom Elevator Manufacturing, Inc., based out of Plumsteadville, PA. As the Post article notes, Custom Elevator has long known about the dangers posed by its home elevators, yet it never undertook to recall the elevators. Instead, the company’s president, Ken Hermann, posted a letter addressed to their local dealers on its website. In that letter, Custom Elevator acknowledged that old standards for its elevators may be found to be “insufficient to protect children from harm,” yet purported to shift responsibility for notifying customers and fixing the defect to the dealers.
Today’s article is the latest in a series by The Washington Post on the issues surrounding deadly gaps in home elevators, which has helped the firm shed light on these preventable tragedies and the need for a nationwide recall. Cash Krugler Fredericks has been petitioning for such a recall since 2013. To date, progress has been made as a direct result of Cash Krugler Fredericks’ efforts: national standards have changed to eliminate the deadly gap in new elevators; the national voluntary standards have changed to minimize and eliminate the entrapment hazard; and most recently the CPSC sued a home elevator manufacturer, ThyssenKrupp Access, to force a recall. However, there is work to be done, as many manufacturers continue to refuse to recall these deadly products. Until that happens, more children will be injured or killed, and more families devastated.
