Michigan Elevator and Escalator Accident Lawyer

Whether Your Accident Looks Like a Property Problem, an Equipment Problem or Both

Two legal theories usually frame these cases. The first is premises liability, the area of law dealing with the responsibility of whoever owns or controls a property for conditions on it, including an elevator or escalator the owner controls. The second is product liability, which deals with harm caused by a defect in how equipment was designed or made.

If you are thinking about a premises liability claim, it helps to know the four questions it generally turns on, as most negligence claims do: whether the owner or operator owed you a duty of care, whether that duty was breached, whether the breach caused your injury, and whether you suffered damages. The duty owed to a hotel guest, a shopper or another invitee depends on Michigan's current law and the facts of the visit. A product liability claim instead asks whether the equipment had a defect and whether that defect caused the injury.

Some cases involve both. A worn component that went unserviced might raise questions about the owner and about the maker of the part. You may also see the term common carrier, meaning a business that carries the public for hire. Courts in some places have applied it to elevators, but this page does not state a Michigan rule on it.

What is at stake for you is practical: Michigan's statutes treat the two theories differently on time limits and damages, so the label on a claim can change what may be recovered. A question worth weighing early is whether what happened points to how the building was run, how the equipment was built, or both, and that is one of the first things a conversation with an attorney can help sort out. The general principles behind an elevator accident claim apply across states; this page covers what Michigan's own statutes add.

Accident Scenarios This Page Covers

These accidents happen wherever Michigan buildings move people between floors: hotels, shopping malls, apartment buildings, office buildings, airports and hospitals. Common types include:

• Sudden drops, when an elevator car falls or descends faster than normal before stopping.
• Misleveling, which means the car stops above or below the floor, leaving a step or gap that can cause a trip or fall.
• Door malfunctions, including doors that close on a person entering or leaving.
• Entrapment, meaning a person is stuck inside a stalled car, or a body part, clothing or shoe is caught in moving equipment.
• Escalator step or handrail failures, such as a step that separates or a handrail that stops while the stairs keep moving.
• Falls caused by an equipment malfunction, such as a sudden stop or a jolt.

The setting shapes who controlled the equipment and what relationship you had with the property. A tenant, a hospital patient and an airport traveler arrive under different circumstances, and the owner, a manager, a contractor and a manufacturer may each have had a different role.

The kind of malfunction also points toward a theory. A door that closed on someone may raise questions about maintenance or about design; a recurring misleveling problem may raise questions about service. For you, this means the details of where you were and what the equipment did can decide which parties and which rules come into play. Writing down the type of property and what the equipment did is often where understanding starts. Escalator incidents are covered on this site's page on escalator accidents.

Who May Be Responsible for Your Injury

Michigan cases involving vertical transport can involve several kinds of parties:

• Property owners and building managers, under premises liability, because they control the building and its equipment.
• A maintenance contractor, meaning the company hired to service and inspect the elevator or escalator.
• Equipment manufacturers, under product liability, if a design or manufacturing defect is claimed.
• Component-part manufacturers, where a specific part such as a brake, door sensor or step chain is claimed to have failed.

More than one party can share responsibility, and Michigan divides it in a particular way. Under section 600.6304 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, the jury or judge determines "the percentage of the total fault of all persons that contributed to the death or injury," including nonparties and the injured person. The statute then says liability "is several only and not joint." Several liability means each defendant generally pays only its own share. A defendant is not required to pay more than its percentage of fault, except as subsection (6) of that section provides. The rule does not apply to a defendant that is jointly and severally liable under section 6312.

For you, this rule has a real consequence: one party's share is generally not shifted onto another, so a party left out of the picture can leave part of the fault unpaid. That makes it worth asking early who owned, managed, serviced and built the equipment, and gathering whatever names appear on signs, service stickers or incident paperwork. An attorney can help identify the parties and their roles.

A service log or inspection certificate shows what was recorded; it does not, by itself, show that anyone was careless. The site's page on claims involving TK Elevator discusses how manufacturers, installers, contractors and owners can each appear in a claim.

How Long Michigan Allows and How Your Own Fault Is Counted

The main Michigan deadline is in section 600.5805 of the Michigan Compiled Laws. "Except as otherwise provided in this section, the period of limitations is 3 years after the time of the death or injury for all actions to recover damages for the death of a person or for injury to a person or property." A limitation period is the time the law allows to start a lawsuit.

The same section sets "3 years for a products liability action." For a product "in use for not less than 10 years," the plaintiff must prove a prima facie case "without the benefit of any presumption." A prima facie case is the basic showing needed to go forward. Other provisions of Michigan law, including any statute of repose (an outside limit on when a claim may be brought), can affect these periods. How these apply depends on Michigan's current law.

Children are treated differently. Under section 600.5851 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, if the person is under 18 years of age or insane when the claim accrues, that person has "1 year after the disability is removed through death or otherwise" to bring the action, "although the period of limitations has run." There are exceptions in subsections (7) and (8). The section defines insane as mental derangement that prevents a person from understanding their rights.

One narrow notice rule applies to government defendants. Section 691.1404 of the Michigan Compiled Laws requires notice within 120 days for injuries from a defective highway. Minors get up to 180 days. A person physically or mentally incapable of giving notice gets 180 days after that disability ends. That section concerns highways, not elevators.

Fault is the other piece. Section 600.2959 of the Michigan Compiled Laws says the court "shall reduce the damages by the percentage of comparative fault" of the injured or deceased person. If that person's fault "is greater than the aggregate fault of the other person or persons," economic damages are reduced and "noneconomic damages shall not be awarded." How fault is divided depends on the facts.

If you were hurt, these rules mean two things to keep in view: the date of the injury, which starts the clock, and how your own actions in the moment may be described. Questions worth raising with an attorney include which period applies to each possible claim, whether the injured person was a minor, and how the other side may characterize your share of fault.

Damages Michigan Law May Allow, and the Limits That Apply

Michigan's statutes sort damages into two groups. Economic loss covers measurable financial harm, such as medical expenses, lost earnings and the cost of future care. Noneconomic loss covers harm without a receipt, such as pain and suffering. Which damages are available, and in what amount, depends on the facts and the theory of the claim.

A separate limit applies only in an action for product liability. Under section 600.2946a of the Michigan Compiled Laws, the total amount of damages for noneconomic loss "shall not exceed $280,000.00, unless the defect in the product caused either the person's death or permanent loss of a vital bodily function, in which case the total amount of damages for noneconomic loss shall not exceed $500,000.00." These are base figures written in the statute, not the amounts in effect in a given year. The state treasurer adjusts them at the end of each calendar year so they stay equal to the limitations in section 1483, so the operative figure in the year a case is decided can differ from the base figures.

The jury itemizes economic and noneconomic losses but is not told about the limit; the court adjusts the award afterward. The higher limit for death or loss of a vital bodily function does not apply to a defendant if the death or loss was the result of that defendant's gross negligence, or if the court finds the matters in section 2949a are true.

For someone hurt by an elevator or escalator, this limit is not automatic. A claim against a building owner under premises liability is a different action. What is at stake is how much of a noneconomic award may stand, depending on how the claim is framed. Keeping records of medical costs and lost earnings helps document economic loss, and a conversation with an attorney can help sort out which theories fit, which damages rules follow, and what the current adjusted limit is.

What Records Can Show About Your Accident

If you were hurt, the records that usually matter in a Michigan elevator or escalator case include:

• Medical records documenting the injury, diagnosis and treatment.
• Photographs and video of the scene, the equipment and visible injuries.
• Incident reports made to the property owner or building manager.
• Elevator and escalator inspection and maintenance records.
• Witness names and contact information.
• Surveillance footage from the property.
• The equipment itself, or documentation of its condition after the accident.

When you look at inspection and maintenance records, they tell you what was recorded about the equipment: when it was serviced, what was noted and by whom. They are not allegations or findings of negligence. A repair entry does not prove a defect, and a passed inspection does not settle the question in the other direction.

These records often sit with different parties. The property owner may hold incident reports and video; the maintenance contractor may hold service logs; a manufacturer may hold design and part information. What is at stake for you is that much of the evidence is in someone else's hands, while your own medical bills, photos and anything handed to you at the scene stay with you. Keeping those together, and noting who may hold the rest, gives an attorney a starting point. Government data on how often these injuries occur appears on the site's page on elevator accident statistics.

Wrongful Death Claims Under Michigan Law

Michigan's wrongful death statute is section 600.2922 of the Michigan Compiled Laws. It applies when a death is "caused by wrongful act, neglect, or fault of another." The act must be one that would have let the injured person sue if death had not followed. Every action "shall be brought by, and in the name of, the personal representative of the estate of the deceased." The personal representative is the person appointed to handle the estate.

If you lost a family member, you may be wondering whether you are among those the law recognizes. The statute limits damages to people who suffer damages and survive the deceased: the deceased's spouse, children, descendants, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. If none of them survive, those who would inherit under intestate succession are included. The children of the deceased's spouse are also listed. These rules are subject to sections 700.2802 to 700.2805. Within 30 days after filing, the personal representative must serve the complaint and notice on those who may be entitled to damages.

The three-year period in section 600.5805 covers actions for death and runs from the time of the death or injury. The comparative fault reduction in section 600.2959 applies to wrongful death actions too, measured by the fault of the person whose death the damages are based on.

For a family, the first questions are often practical: who serves as personal representative, who counts as a survivor, and when the time began to run. A conversation with our attorney can help a family sort through those questions; a case evaluation request is the way to start one.