Elevator and Escalator Accidents at Long Island Shopping Centers: Who Is Responsible

A trip to a Long Island shopping center should not end in an ambulance ride. Yet elevators and escalators, machines most of us barely think twice about, cause real injuries every year. If one of these machines malfunctioned and you got hurt, who is actually supposed to answer for it?

Why These Machines Are Held to a Higher Standard

Elevators and escalators are not simple fixtures like a handrail or a parking curb. They are complex mechanical systems that carry people through the air, and New York law treats them accordingly. Property owners and management companies have a duty to keep these devices in reasonably safe operating condition, which means more than just installing them once and forgetting about them. Regular inspections, prompt repairs, and properly trained maintenance staff are all part of that ongoing obligation. When a shopping center allows a known problem, like a sticking door or a misleveling cab, to go unaddressed, that failure can turn a routine trip to the mall into a serious injury.

More Than One Party Can Share the Blame

Have you ever wondered why elevator accident cases can drag on with multiple defendants? It is because shopping centers rarely operate their own elevators and escalators without outside help. A few parties commonly come into play:

• The shopping center owner or property manager, who is responsible for overall premises safety
• The maintenance company contracted to inspect and service the equipment
• The manufacturer, if a design or manufacturing defect contributed to the malfunction
• A repair contractor, if recent work on the unit was performed negligently

Sorting out which of these parties actually dropped the ball often requires digging into maintenance logs, inspection records, and repair histories, since more than one of them may share responsibility for the same accident.

Proving Fault Without a Smoking Gun

Elevators and escalators do not typically malfunction without some kind of underlying failure, whether mechanical, electrical, or related to neglected maintenance. Because of this, cases involving these accidents often rely on a legal concept called res ipsa loquitur, meaning the accident essentially speaks for itself. If a properly maintained elevator would not normally drop suddenly or an escalator would not normally lurch to a stop, the fact that it happened can itself suggest negligence, even without a clear answer as to the exact mechanical cause. That said, actual evidence, like prior complaints, past service records, or the frequency of similar issues, still matters a great deal in building a strong case.

The Numbers Tell a Real Story

This is not a rare or theoretical problem. In 2023, New York City’s Department of Buildings Elevator Unit responded to roughly 100 elevator and escalator related incidents, and the vast majority of them involved someone getting hurt. While that figure covers New York City specifically, it reflects just how often these everyday machines fail people across the region, including at the busy shopping centers here on Long Island.

Talk to an Attorney About What Happened

If you were injured in an elevator or escalator accident at a Long Island shopping center, figuring out who is responsible is rarely straightforward, and insurance companies are not eager to make it easy. Our Long Island premises liability attorneys at Jacobson Law investigate every angle of these cases, from ownership and maintenance records to manufacturer defects. Contact our team today for a free consultation to discuss what happened and find out what your case may be worth.

Source:

nyc.gov/site/buildings/safety/elevator.page