No Win, No FeeIt is often far easier to use an escalator than it is to climb a flight of stairs! Without the escalators found in shopping precincts, tube stations, airports and other places, journeys would be a lot less stressful. While using an escalator is usually safe and incident-free, accidents do sometimes happen. If you are injured on an escalator through no fault of your own, it may be possible to lodge an escalator injury claim to compensate you for the pain and suffering you’ve endured.
We are ready to help if you have any questions about escalator compensation claims. If you call, we’ll have an advisor review your claim for free. If it looks like you have a reasonable chance of success, one of our personal injury lawyers may decide to represent you. If they do, you’ll benefit from their legal expertise on a No Win, No Fee basis.
Please call us on 0800 652 1345 to talk about your claim right away. Alternatively, continue reading to find out more about claiming escalator accident compensation.
What laws apply to escalator safety?
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), escalators and travelators must meet the safety criteria set out by the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 or the Lift Regulations 2016.
As a result, when an escalator is commissioned, it must be designed, constructed and installed in line with the relevant piece of legislation.
After installation, laws such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Occupiers Liability Act 1984 mean that the escalator must be examined regularly and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines.
Can I claim compensation for being injured by an escalator?
Our personal injury solicitors don’t want to waste your time so they’ll only agree to work on your claim if it has a higher than 50 per cent chance of success. When assessing your escalator injury claim, they’ll try to ascertain whether:
- The owner or operator (the defendant) of the escalator owed you a legal duty of care; and
- Negligence by the defendant caused you to have an accident with the escalator; and
- You sustained injuries during the accident.
In most cases, an escalator injury compensation claim will be handled by the defendant’s insurance company. As you can probably guess, they won’t usually agree to pay compensation unless there is ample proof to show how the escalator accident happened, why their client was to blame and how serious your injuries were. For this reason, we’ll look at the types of proof you could collect to support your claim later in this guide.
Examples of negligence in an escalator injury claim
As discussed previously, you can generally only claim for an injury caused by an escalator if the owner or operator was negligent. Essentially, that means that they will have failed to prevent a foreseeable accident. Some examples of negligence that could result in an escalator injury claim include:
- If the defendant failed to inspect the escalator in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidance.
- Where there were no warning signs at the entrance to an escalator that was out of service.
- If the escalator was in operation even though it was known to have a fault.
- If poor training meant that staff didn’t know how to turn off the escalator in an emergency.
Types of escalator accidents you could claim compensation for
We’ve listed a few escalator accidents that could lead to compensation claims below:
- If you suffered an injury because the escalator’s emergency stop button failed.
- Where your clothing or hand became trapped in a gap at the side of the escalator.
- If you fell down an escalator because it stopped suddenly and without warning.
- Where a fall was caused by an escalator that was moving in a jerky rather than smooth motion.
- Where you tripped and fell because of items littered around the entrance or exit of the escalator.
Even if we’ve not described your escalator accident here, we could still help you to start a claim so please get in touch to discuss your options.
What types of escalator injuries could I be compensated for?
In essence, any injuries sustained during an escalator accident caused by the owner’s negligence could allow you to claim compensation. In our experience, some of the most common reasons for escalator injury claims include:
- Concussion, minor brain damage and other types of head injury.
- Spinal injuries.
- Fractured bones.
- Lacerations.
- Finger amputations.
- Ankle injuries.
- Soft tissue damage (sprains, strains and tears).
- Psychological injuries.
The severity of your injuries can be affected by the height of the escalator and how far up it you were (if you fell from a height off an escalator for example). While some escalator injuries will be relatively minor, others can be life-changing.
Whatever type of injury you’ve suffered, speak to us today to assess your chances of being compensated.
Can I claim compensation for my childs injury?
Legally, children cannot handle legal matters themselves. However, if your child was injured on an escalator, you may be able to claim compensation on their behalf. To do so, you will need to apply to be their litigation friend. Once approved, you’ll be able to instruct a solicitor and make decisions about the claim.
Please contact us if your child has suffered an injury on an escalator and you’d like us to help you lodge a child personal injury claim on their behalf.
How much compensation can I claim?
The amount of compensation you could be awarded following an escalator accident is based on any physical, mental and financial suffering. That means that you could be compensated for:
- Discomfort, pain and suffering caused by your physical injuries.
- Distress, flashbacks, anxiety and other psychological injuries.
- Loss of earnings including any future losses.
- Care costs to cover the time someone else spent helping you while you recovered.
- Medical expenses such as physiotherapy costs.
- Travel costs.
- Loss of enjoyment of any normal activities that your injuries prevent you from participating in.
- Replacement costs for items damaged in the escalator accident.
- The cost of modifying your home to make things easier if you’ve been left with a disability from the accident.
To help calculate the amount of compensation you’ll receive for your injuries, your solicitor will arrange an independent medical assessment. This involves a fairly short appointment with a medical expert who’ll examine your injuries and discuss any problems that they have caused.
Providing proof for an escalator injury claim
If you fall and hurt yourself on an escalator, you probably won’t immediately start thinking about securing proof to support a compensation claim. However, it is a good idea to take some of the steps outlined below as soon as possible as they could improve your chances of winning any subsequent compensation claim.
- Take photographs. After an escalator accident, try to take pictures of any obvious defect that caused the incident. Also, take photos of any labels, safety certificates, serial numbers or other identifying marks.
- Report the escalator accident. As soon as you can let the party responsible for the escalator know about your accident. They will be obliged to record information about the incident in an accident report. A copy of the report could be used as proof to confirm when the accident happened.
- Visit a hospital. It is vital to have any injuries assessed properly by a medical professional as some symptoms might not be immediately obvious. If you decide to make an escalator injury claim, your medical records can be requested from the hospital.
- Obtain CCTV footage. Many escalators are found in areas covered by security cameras. If your accident was recorded, act quickly to get a copy as it usually won’t usually be retained for very long.
- Obtain any witness’s details. Ask any witnesses who were present when you were injured for their contact details. Your solicitor might need to contact them later to give a statement about what they saw.
- Retain receipts. If you’d like to claim back any costs linked to your injuries, send your solicitor a copy of any invoices, receipts or other financial records.
Your solicitor will help you to obtain any information needed to support your escalator injury claim so don’t worry if you’ve not taken all of the steps listed here. To make it easier to explain what happened, writing down everything you can remember about the accident while it’s still fresh in your mind is another thing you can do.
No Win, No Fee escalator injury claims
To give yourself the best chance of winning an escalator injury claim, we believe it’s best to have a specialist solicitor on your side. If you’re represented by one of ours, they’ll do all they can to make the claims process as straightforward as possible and to try and ensure that you’re compensated fairly.
Should your claim be accepted, your solicitor will act on a No Win, No Fee basis. That means that:
- You won’t be expected to pay for your solicitor’s work in advance.
- If your claim does not work out, you won’t pay any legal fees.
- You’ll pay a success fee if your claim is won and compensation is awarded.
The success fee is a percentage of any compensation you receive that covers your solicitor’s time and expenses. The amount you’ll pay will be listed in the Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) your solicitor will send you so it will be clear from the start of your claim. Legally success fees are capped at 25 per cent of any award you receive.
Once you’ve signed the CFA, your solicitor should begin working on your claim straight away. They’ll begin by collecting proof and medical reports and then they’ll write to the defendant.
So that you don’t face any difficult legal or medical questions, your solicitor will handle all communications for you. They will however keep you up to date with any progress made.
In all escalator injury compensation claims, our solicitors will try to secure the highest possible settlement amount.
Escalator injury claim time limits
The Limitation Act 1980 sets a 3-year time limit for personal injury compensation claims. That means that if you want to make an escalator injury claim, you’ll usually need to begin the claims process within 3 years of the date of your accident.
One exception to this rule is if a child hurts themselves on an escalator. That’s because their time limit won’t begin until their 18th birthday. As a result, you could claim compensation on your child’s behalf at any time before they become an adult.
To avoid missing out on any compensation you might be entitled to, we would suggest beginning the claims process at your earliest opportunity. This should allow enough time for medical reports and supporting proof to be secured.
If liability for your accident and injuries is accepted fairly quickly, you could receive a compensation payout in around 6 months’ time, give or take. Where more time is needed to negotiate or to understand the extent of your injuries, the claims process will take longer.
Start an escalator injury compensation claim today
If you or a loved one has been injured whilst using an escalator, we will happily review your chances of being compensated if you give us a call on 0800 652 1345. During the claims consultation, a specially trained advisor will explain your options and offer free legal advice.
To make the claims process less stressful, a personal injury lawyer from our panel will represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis if your claim is accepted.
Please use live chat to connect with us if you have any further questions on escalator injury claims, or claim your free consultation here.
