How to Obtain Compensation for Your Elevator Accident in Louisiana

elevator button

Photo Credit: maxbelchenko / Shutterstock.com

While you may not necessarily realize it, any elevator accident has the potential to be massively harmful. A fall of just a few floors can be extremely dangerous and damaging, especially if your accident involves an elevator stopped by an impact with the ground. The sudden stop can exert a profound jolt on your body. This can cause serious damage to feet, ankles, legs, knees, hips and your back. These injuries can include both broken bones and soft tissue damage. Regardless of how far you fell, you should take timely action to protect your rights and your ability to recover compensation for the harm you suffered. Reach out to put an experienced New Orleans injury attorney on your side.

One recent elevator accident case originated in the state’s capital. G.T. worked for the state’s Department of Health and Hospitals at the Bienville Building in downtown Baton Rouge. One day in early 2011, G.T. left his eighth-floor office at the end of the work day and took the elevator down, as usual. The trip was far from typical, however. As the elevator reached the third floor, it fell suddenly, plummeting all the way to the ground floor. The powerful impact caused G.T. to suffer serious injuries to his spine, hip and both knees. The injury forced the worker to undergo a bilateral knee arthroscopy. He also eventually needed multiple lumbar fusion surgeries to address his spinal injuries.

If you are injured in an elevator accident, you may be entitled to compensation for the harm you suffered. The correct avenue for seeking that compensation may vary based upon the facts of your case. In G.T.’s situation, because the elevator accident that injured him occurred in the office building in which he worked, he was able to pursue, and obtain, compensation in the form of workers’ compensation benefits.

For others, though, their accident may not be one that triggers benefits under the workers’ compensation system. For these injured individuals, a civil lawsuit may be the correct course of action. If your injury is one best addressed through litigation, your case may go forward against multiple people or entities, as there may be several parties who were negligent and liable to you for your harm.

The elevator manufacturer has a legal obligation to you, as a passenger, to create and manufacture safe cars. If your elevator was unsafe due to its design, you may have a case against the manufacturer. The person or entity that inspects the elevator is obligated to perform a competent inspection. If your elevator inspector missed something that should have been spotted, then you may have a case against that defendant. The owner (or, in some situations, the tenant) who is responsible for the upkeep of the building has a legal obligation to keep the elevator properly maintained and inspected. If they fail to perform these tasks, that could trigger liability.

If you’ve been hurt in an elevator accident, reach out to the Cardone Law Firm, where our experienced Louisiana injury lawyers have spent many years providing our clients with the helpful advice and skillful representation they need to get compensated for their injuries.

For your confidential consultation contact us online or phone Cardone at 504-522-3333.

More Blog Posts:

The Different Forms of Compensation to Which You May Be Entitled in Your Louisiana Elevator Accident Case, Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog, June 21, 2018

Elevator Breakdown Leads to Man’s Tragic Death in New Orleans East Office Building, Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog, Dec. 6, 2017

 

Contact Information