On August 17, 2022, our client was performing her job duties as a phlebotomist at a San Antonio hospital, making rounds to patients between floors. According to the petition, she entered a hospital elevator with a co-worker, each pushing a cart of supplies, and selected their floor — just as they had done countless times before.
According to the petition, the elevator suddenly and unexpectedly dropped at a high rate of speed. The doors opened briefly to reveal a wall rather than an open floor, then closed again as the elevator continued downward. There had been no warning — no signs, no cones, no notice that the elevator was unsafe or should have been taken out of service.
While she was trapped inside the falling elevator, our client was thrown forcefully against the wall and pinned by her cart. The petition alleges she suffered a concussion and a back injury, among other harms, and that she has been left unable to work and continues to suffer physical pain and serious psychological effects from the ordeal.
An elevator that drops suddenly is not something that happens when the equipment is properly maintained, inspected, and repaired. According to the petition, multiple companies shared responsibility for this elevator — the hospital that owned the premises and owed a duty to those it invited inside, the elevator manufacturers and maintenance companies responsible for keeping the equipment in safe working order, and the inspection company responsible for catching dangerous conditions. The petition alleges each of them failed to properly inspect, maintain, or repair the elevator, failed to take it out of service despite its condition, and failed to warn anyone of the danger.
The petition pleads the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur — the principle that an elevator car does not fall and crash absent someone’s negligence — because the defendants controlled the maintenance, repair, inspection, and operation of the elevator. We are pursuing the elevator’s maintenance and inspection history, the service and repair records, and the companies’ policies and communications, and we have already filed the medical and billing records documenting our client’s injuries. These allegations are claims in the petition, to be established through discovery and at trial.
We represent the injured worker and have filed suit in Bexar County against the companies responsible for the elevator — the hospital premises owner, the elevator manufacturers and maintenance providers, and the inspection company. Our claims include negligence, premises liability, and gross negligence, with a claim for exemplary damages. The case is in active litigation: we have filed sworn medical and billing records affidavits documenting her treatment, and the parties are conducting depositions.
A person who steps onto an elevator at work should be able to trust that it will not drop out from under her. When the companies responsible for that elevator fail to keep it safe, they should answer for the harm that follows — and we intend to hold every responsible party fully accountable.
We represent the injured worker and have filed suit in Bexar County against the companies responsible for the elevator — the hospital premises owner, the elevator manufacturers and maintenance providers, and the inspection company. Our claims include negligence, premises liability, and gross negligence, with a claim for exemplary damages. The case is in active litigation: we have filed sworn medical and billing records affidavits documenting her treatment, and the parties are conducting depositions.
A person who steps onto an elevator at work should be able to trust that it will not drop out from under her. When the companies responsible for that elevator fail to keep it safe, they should answer for the harm that follows — and we intend to hold every responsible party fully accountable.
