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Were you hurt by a malfunctioning elevator or escalator?

If an elevator or escalator failed you, you are in the right place. We can help.

Are you in an emergency right now?

  • Check yourself and others for injuries.
  • Call 911 if anyone is hurt, trapped, or the equipment is still moving unsafely.
  • Move away from the elevator or escalator if you can do it safely.
  • Get medical care even if you feel shaken but not hurt. Falls and sudden stops can hide an injury.
  • This page is for after you are safe.

This page covers elevator and escalator claim deadlines and what to do right now. We are the injured person's advocate. We connect you with a lawyer who handles cases like yours, so you get the full settlement your recovery deserves. Always free. Talk to an advocate. We usually reply within minutes, at most one business day.

Why these cases are more complicated than they look

An elevator or escalator accident usually is not just about the building owner. Most elevators and escalators are serviced under contract by a specialized maintenance company, not by the property's own staff. That means a claim can involve more than one responsible party: the building or property owner, the maintenance contractor, and sometimes the equipment manufacturer.

This matters because each of these parties may have different maintenance and inspection records, and each may try to point at the others. A building owner may say the equipment was under a full-service maintenance contract and any failure was the contractor's fault. A maintenance company may say it followed the manufacturer's schedule and the failure was a hidden defect. Sorting out who is responsible takes access to maintenance logs, inspection records, and service contracts, records that are usually not in your hands and can be hard to get without help.

Elevators and escalators are also subject to routine safety inspections in most jurisdictions, and skipped or rushed inspections are a recurring theme in reported cases.

What real elevator and escalator cases have paid

These are publicly reported settlements and verdicts. They are examples only, not a promise of what any case is worth. Most cases settle for far less, and outcomes depend heavily on the specific facts.

We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. These figures illustrate how outcomes vary based on the severity of the injury and how clearly maintenance or inspection failures can be shown.

Talk to an advocate. You do not have to sort out who is responsible alone.

When it goes wrong: a true story

In the New Jersey shaft-fall case, the man fell into the pit after the elevator doors opened even though no car was present, an outcome that maintenance and safety checks are specifically designed to prevent. The case settled for $8 million on the very first day of trial, after both the property owner and the maintenance contractor were named (New Jersey Law Journal).

Riding an elevator is something people do without a second thought, dozens of times a week. When basic safety systems fail, it is not because the person riding it did anything wrong. It is a sign that maintenance, inspection, or both broke down somewhere in a system that was supposed to catch that failure before anyone got hurt. Talk to an advocate before you accept any explanation from the building or maintenance company.

Protect your case

  1. Talk to an advocate at WeHelpInjured. It is free.
  2. Report the incident to building management or security and ask for a written incident report.
  3. Note the exact elevator or escalator (building, floor, unit number if posted) and what happened, including any unusual sounds, smells, or warning signs beforehand.
  4. Ask whether the elevator or escalator is serviced by an outside maintenance company, and try to get that company's name.
  5. Get names and contact information for any witnesses.
  6. Ask if the equipment was taken out of service after the incident, and if maintenance and inspection records can be requested before they are lost.
  7. Warning: don't wait! The filing deadline is a trap. It is different in every state, and a government-owned building can carry a much shorter notice period, so people wait, and waiting kills cases. The longer you wait, the fuzzier memories get and maintenance records get lost or overwritten. Talk to an advocate immediately. And important: medical claims can have different, often shorter deadlines. See our state pages for details.

Never do these

What we can help with

All of it is free to you. We never take money from injured people.

Talk to an advocate. Elevator cases involve more moving parts than most people expect.

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