Who Is Liable for an Elevator or Escalator Accident in Pennsylvania?
September 11, 2025
In Pennsylvania, liability for an elevator or escalator accident generally falls on the party that failed to ensure the machine was safe. This could be the property owner, the management company, a maintenance contractor, or even the manufacturer. Proving liability requires demonstrating that this party was negligent—meaning they failed to use reasonable care, and that failure directly caused your injuries. The process involves a detailed investigation into maintenance logs, inspection records, and the equipment’s history, which is difficult to uncover on your own. If you have a question about an injury you or a loved one sustained in an elevator or escalator incident, call Wapner Newman at (215) 569-0900.
Who Is Legally Responsible When an Elevator or Escalator Fails?
The Core Legal Principle: Premises Liability
At the heart of these cases is a legal concept called premises liability. This principle requires property owners in Pennsylvania to keep their premises reasonably safe for people who are lawfully on the property. For elevators and escalators, this duty is even higher. Pennsylvania law views them as “common carriers,” similar to a bus or taxi. This means the owners and operators must exercise the highest degree of care to ensure passenger safety.If you’ve been injured, consulting a premises liability lawyer can help you understand your legal rights and options.
Identifying the Potentially Liable Parties
Our investigation focuses on identifying which of the following failed in their duty:
- Property Owners: The owner of the building, whether it’s a mall, office, or apartment complex, has a fundamental duty to ensure all equipment on their property is safe.
- Property Managers: A separate company is typically hired to manage the property. Their responsibilities include overseeing maintenance and addressing any safety complaints from tenants or visitors.
- Maintenance and Repair Companies: These are the third-party contractors hired to inspect, service, and repair the elevators or escalators. We would examine their service records to see if they missed scheduled maintenance or performed faulty repairs that led to the accident.
- Manufacturers or Installers: If the accident was caused by a flaw in the machine’s design or a mistake during installation, the manufacturer is held responsible under a concept called strict liability. This means they are liable regardless of whether they were negligent. This is particularly relevant in cases involving equipment defects or recalls.
How Do You Prove That Someone Was Negligent?
An injury alone isn’t enough to secure compensation. Under the law, we must connect your injury to a specific failure by one of the parties mentioned above. This is done by proving negligence, which is a failure to exercise the level of care that a reasonable person would have under similar circumstances.
The Four Elements We Work to Establish:
To build a successful claim, we focus on proving four key elements. Think of them as links in a chain that connect the responsible party’s actions to the harm you suffered.
- Duty of Care: First, we establish that the defendant (for example, the property owner) owed you a legal duty of care to keep you safe. As mentioned previously, this duty is exceptionally high for common carriers like elevators and escalators in Pennsylvania.
- Breach of Duty: Next, we show how they failed in that duty. This is the “what went wrong.” For instance, a maintenance company might skip a monthly inspection, failing to notice a worn-out cable. Another example is a property manager who receives complaints about an elevator misleveling but does nothing to fix it.
- Causation: Then, we must directly link that failure to your injuries. The worn-out cable snapping and causing the elevator to jolt is what led to your fall and broken wrist. The evidence must show that the defendant’s breach was a direct cause of your harm.
- Damages: Finally, we document the full extent of your losses. This includes not just medical bills and lost income, but also the physical pain and emotional suffering that resulted from the injury.
Building this chain of evidence is the core of our work. We handle gathering the proof needed to demonstrate exactly how another party’s carelessness led to your harm.
What if You Were Injured at Work on an Elevator?
For the many Pennsylvanians who work in construction, warehouses, or hospitals, an on-the-job elevator accident changes the legal approach. You have two potential paths for seeking compensation.
Your First Path: Workers’ Compensation
If you are injured at work, your primary source of benefits is the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. This system provides for medical expenses and a portion of lost wages, regardless of who was at fault for the accident. Act promptly, as you must notify your employer of the injury within 120 days to protect your rights to these benefits.
Your Second Path: A Third-Party Claim
Workers’ compensation typically prevents you from suing your employer directly. However, Pennsylvania law allows you to file a separate personal injury lawsuit against a negligent third party. For example, if your injury was caused by a faulty repair, you file a claim against the outside maintenance company that services the elevator. This third-party claim allows you to pursue compensation for things like pain and suffering of your injuries, which workers’ comp does not cover. If you’re unsure about your options, consulting with a worker’s compensation lawyer can help Pennsylvania law gives you two years from the date of injury to file this type of lawsuit.
Frequently Asked Questions About Elevator & Escalator Accident Claims
What are the most common causes of these accidents?
Most serious injuries are not from free-falling elevators. They are typically caused by sudden stops, doors closing on people, or “misleveling,” where the elevator fails to stop flush with the floor, creating a trip hazard. For escalators, falls due to sudden stops or jolts, and the entrapment of clothing or limbs in the moving parts are most frequent.
How long do I have to file a lawsuit in Pennsylvania?
For most personal injury cases, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a claim. If your claim is against a government entity, the deadline is as short as six months. For work injuries, as mentioned earlier, you must notify your employer much sooner, within 120 days.
What if I think the accident was partly my fault?
Pennsylvania uses a “modified comparative negligence” rule. This means you recover damages as long as you are found to be 50% or less at fault. If you are found partially at fault, your compensation would be reduced by your percentage of fault.
My child was injured on an escalator. Are these cases different?
Yes, cases involving children receive special attention because property owners have a higher duty to protect them from foreseeable dangers. Escalator entrapment injuries, especially involving young children, are a known hazard that property owners should guard against. The law recognizes that children do not appreciate the dangers an escalator presents.
Let Us Handle the Details So You Can Focus on Healing
We know that you are dealing with more than just physical injuries; you are also facing uncertainty about your finances and your future. We handle elevator and escalator injury cases for people throughout Pennsylvania.
You don’t have to sort through maintenance records or determine which parties are at fault on your own. If you’re ready to discuss your situation, call Wapner Newman for a free consultation at (215) 569-0900.