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California Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers Concerned About Rise in Elevator Injuries among Elderly

A new study is shedding light on the correlation between elevator injuries and elderly people, and the results show that they have special challenges that place them at serious risk for injuries, and slip and fall accidents.

The study was conducted by researchers at the Department of Public Health at the Indiana University School of Medicine. According to the study, elevators are one of the safest modes of transportation for Americans, but may pose a serious risk of injuries or fatalities to senior citizens. The researchers advised that citizens must take special care while getting into or out of elevators. According to the study, approximately 2,600 elderly persons are injured in elevator accidents every year, and these accidents are serious enough for them to require emergency room treatment. More than 50% of these injuries are the result of a slip and fall accident. Approximately 1/3^rd of the injuries are the result of the elevator door closing on the elderly person.

The researchers also used data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission to make their point.

• According to this data which dates between 1990 and 2006, elevator accidents contributed to 44,870 injuries that were serious enough to require emergency room treatment in adults over the age of 65.
• Approximately, 51% of all elevator injuries involving the elderly involved slip, trip and fall accidents.
• The most common type of injuries were soft tissue injuries or sprains. These accounted for 48% of all injuries.
• The second most common type of injuries were fractures, followed by cuts.
• More than 40% of the elevator injuries that required hospitalization, involved fractures.
• Not surprisingly, the study found that the risk of suffering elevator-related injuries increased with the person’s age. The risk of injury increased by more than seven times in persons above the age of 85, than in the 65 to 69 age group.
• Three quarters of these injuries involved older women.

The researchers have special advice for elderly persons. These people tend to be at a much higher risk simply because they tend to use elevators much more than younger persons do.

• Be patient and wait for the next car to come instead of rushing to get into the one that is stopped at your floor.
• Get the edges of the elevator painted a different color from the hallway. This helps older persons perceive the location of the elevator much better.
• Older persons must also avoid placing their hands, legs, walker or cane in between the doors of the elevator.

As more and more older people choose to live independently, they’re more likely to walk about the building alone and without assistance. For these people, elevators provide a practical and convenient way of getting around. California slip and fall accident lawyers advise that elderly persons must take better care while using elevators, especially while getting in and out of these. Most slip and fall accidents involve elderly persons getting through the doors of the elevator, or trying to come out of the elevator. Elevator-related accidents can be serious, and even fatal.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of slip and fall accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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One response to “California Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers Concerned About Rise in Elevator Injuries among Elderly”

1. Robert Krieger writes:
   

   Dear Sirs,

   The question you should be asking is who is doing the maintenance and how often is this equipment checked? Are the maintenance personnel trainned?
   Are there records of this being done?

   How is the Kinetic energy of the doors measured? (By guess and by golly?)
   There is more to the subject than you may realize contact me and maybe we can open a discussion.

   I have developed a kinetic energy calculator the measures the speed of the closing doors and calculates the mass of the doors from the impulse of the doors to derive kinteic energy. These formula were put forth by Sir Issac Newton. So, again I ask, how often is this checked, and by whom? If some one holds a spring that looks like a fish scale on the door and purports that this is how the kinetic energy (energy that hits granny when the door slams on her) they are not only fooling you but themselves as well.

   The amount of kinetic energy is a code related issue in ASME A17.1
   This is enforcable in states that adopt it and also enforcable as an OSHA issue in Section 5 A 1. The general duty clause.

   Below is what is stated in this code.
   2.13.4.2.1 Kinetic Energy
   (a) Where the hoistway door and the car door/gate are closed in such a manner that stopping either one manually will stop both, the kinetic energy of the closing door system shall be based upon the sum of the hoistway and the car door weights, as well as all parts rigidly connected thereto, including the rotational inertia effects of the door operator and the connecting transmission to the door panels.

   (b) Where a reopening device conforming to 2.13.5 is used, the closing door system shall conform to the following requirements:

   (1) The kinetic energy computed for the actual closing speed at any point in the Code zone distance defined by 2.13.4.2.2 shall not exceed 23 J (17 ft-lbf).
   (2) The kinetic energy computed for the average closing speed as determined in accordance with 2.13.4.2.2 shall not exceed 10 J (7.37 ft-lbf).

   (c) Where a reopening device is not used, or has been rendered inoperative (see 2.13.5), the closing door system shall conform to the following requirements:
   (1) The kinetic energy computed for the actual closing speed at any point in the Code zone distance defined by 2.13.4.2.2 shall not exceed 8 J (6 ft-lbf).
   (2) The kinetic energy computed for the average closing speed within the Code zone distance (see 2.13.4.2.2), or in any exposed opening width, including the last increment of door travel, shall not exceed 3.5 J (2.5 ft-lbf).

   2.13.4.2.2 Door Travel in the Code Zone Distance
   (a) For all side sliding doors using single or multiple speed panels, the Code zone distance shall be taken as the horizontal distance from a point 50 mm (2 in.) away from the open jamb to a point 50 mm (2 in.) away from the opposite jamb.
   (b) For all center-opening sliding doors using single or multiple speed panels, the Code zone distance shall be taken as the horizontal distance from a point 25 mm (1 in.) away from the open jamb to a point 25 mm (1 in.) from the center meeting point of the doors.
   (c) The average closing speed shall be determined by measuring the time required for the leading edge of the door to travel the Code zone distance.

   2.13.4.2.3 Door Force. The force necessary to prevent closing of the hoistway door (or the car door or gate if power operated) from rest shall not exceed 135 N (30 lbf) (see 2.13.3.1). This force shall be measured on the leading edge of the door with the door at any point between one-third and two-thirds of its travel

   @ March 31st, 2010 at 19:11