Woman injured on escalator awarded $3 million settlement

The average person rides an escalator thousands of times during their lifetime. We think nothing of it, and rarely consider the dangers involved. However, these seemingly innocuous transports can cause serious bodily injury. One example is a woman who had her toe shredded when she was Christmas shopping in 2013 at a mall in Little Rock, Arkansas. A jury recently awarded her $3 million.

According to local media, the medical student was riding down the escalator with her parents when her booted foot got caught in a gap caused by a malfunction. Her big toe was shredded and crushed before the lift turned off. She subsequently filed a suit against both the mall owner and the escalator manufacturer, who both admitted fault before the case went to trial. A three-day trial was then conducted in 2018 and a nine-person majority of the jury (which is the minimum for personal injury settlements) awarded her $3 million for past and present medical expenses, lost wages, pain and disfigurement. The jury deliberated for about two hours.

It was also revealed that the guilty parties were aware of the gap issue because other shoppers had gotten their clothes caught in the escalator. Despite this knowledge, nothing was done to fix the lift.

A life changed forever

This woman’s promising medical career was put on hold and her life was changed forever. She is now permanently disfigured by equipment that was known to be broken and dangerous. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding an injury, a knowledgeable attorney can help holiday shoppers injured in malls or stores due to negligence of others.