According to statistics compiled a few years ago, elevator and escalator accidents seriously injure about 17,000 each year, killing roughly 30.
A recent headline was a reminder of that, as a nurse nearly died as a result of a malfunctioning elevator. The accident, reported by NBC DFW, occurred outside Louisiana, but it just as easily could have happened here. The nurse entered an elevator one day at work on the tenth floor of her hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. The elevator continued moving after it should have stopped. The nurse’s foot became trapped and, ultimately, the elevator crushed the nurse. The nurse managed to survive but spent a month in a coma. The elevator accident inflicted massive internal injuries and also left the nurse with brain damage. According to the NBC DFW report, the nurse “is expected to have a long-term recovery from injuries that are expected to impact her throughout her life.”