Sudden Drop Accidents

Elevator Injury Lawyers Representing Victims in the Chicago Area

People in Illinois and throughout the U.S. use elevators on a daily basis. While elevator accidents are rare, they do happen. When an elevator suddenly drops, people inside can sustain serious and long-term injuries. If you or someone close to you has been injured in a sudden drop accident, our Chicago elevator injury attorneys can help. At Therman Law Offices, we can diligently uncover the cause of your accident and help you determine whether you are entitled to compensation for your harm.

Identifying Parties at Fault for Sudden Drop Accidents

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that elevators and escalators injure over 17,000 people each year and that approximately 30 are killed annually. Common injuries associated with elevator accidents include sprained or broken bones, broken ribs, fractured skulls, crushing injuries, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, decapitation, or paralysis.

If you have been hurt in an elevator accident in Illinois, you should know that you likely have a right to compensation for your injuries. After an elevator accident, it is critical to examine what happened so that you can determine who should be held accountable through a negligence claim. Negligence claims require showing that a party failed to use reasonable care, which ultimately caused the accident and your resulting harm. A number of parties could be at fault for a sudden drop accident, such as:

• Building owners, which have an obligation to make sure that all elevators are up to code and in safe working condition. They must also have a plan in place in the event of an elevator accident. If a building owner fails to do these things, and you are injured in its elevator, you may have a case against the owner.
• An elevator service company has a duty to inspect, repair, and maintain elevators properly. A service company may be negligent if it failed to properly carry out these tasks or if its work was faulty, leading to an accident and the resulting injuries.
• An elevator manufacturer has an obligation to make sure that an elevator that it produces is safely designed and safely built. If an inherently dangerous design or shoddy manufacturing was a cause of your sudden drop accident, you may be able to file a claim against the manufacturer. In some cases, you also may be able to sue the manufacturer if it failed to warn of hazards associated with using the elevator.

To win on a negligence claim in Illinois, you must establish that the defendant owed you a duty of care, the defendant breached the duty of care owed to you, and the defendant’s breach was a direct cause of the sudden drop accident and your resulting injuries.

Depending on the nature and extent of your injuries, you may require extensive medical care that can be extremely costly. Under Illinois law, an injured person may be able to obtain both economic and non-economic damages. The exact amount of compensation that a plaintiff will be able to recover will depend on the specific nature of their harm. Typically, a plaintiff will be able to seek compensation for medical expenses, lost income, rehabilitation costs, pain and suffering, disability, property damage, and any other losses arising out of the sudden drop accident.

Contact a Chicago Attorney Following a Serious Elevator Accident

If you or someone close to you has been injured in an elevator that suddenly dropped, it is vital to seek the help of a capable Chicago lawyer who can assess the merits of your case. With many years of combined experience, we understand how to navigate these types of cases. Our injury lawyers also serve people in Schaumburg, Wheaton, Lombard, Villa Park, Addison, Elmhurst, West Chicago, Lemont, Westmont, Oakbrook Terrace, Clarendon Hills, and Downers Grove, among other cities. Our office is conveniently located in northwest Chicago near O’Hare Airport. For more information about your legal rights and options, feel free to call us at 312-588-1900 or contact us online.