A movable walkway is a slow-moving conveyor mechanism that transports people across a horizontal or inclined surface. These walkways, which can be used by standing or walking on them are commonly installed in pairs with one for each direction. Movable walkways are often found in high-traffic areas such as airports, train stations, museums, zoos, shopping malls and theme parks.

While fatalities are rare in movable walkway accidents, sometimes they do occur. In 1960, a two year old girl bent down to get a closer look at a movable walkway installed in a municipal airport in Dallas, Texas when suddenly her coat sleeve was caught by the heavy rubber belt where it turned under at the end. Her hand, wrist and part of her forearm were pulled below floor level. Before anyone had time to help her, the girl was crushed to death by her clothing that squeezed tightly around her body.

Some of the most common accidents that happen on moving walkways include:

Slip and Falls – When someone loses their balance on a movable walkway, terrible injuries can be sustained as the person can break bones or hit their head on a hard surface wherein a traumatic brain injury is suffered.

Clothing being caught in the moving parts – When clothing is caught in the moving parts of a movable walkway, the victim can sustain very serious injuries including contusions & lacerations, internal organ damage due and strangulation. These types of injuries are more common in children as their small bodies simply are more prone to being injured when clothing is trapped and pulled into the moving parts of a movable walkway.

Entrapment of fingers or toes – It is common for young children to get their fingers or toes trapped along the edge of movable walkway rails. This type of accident usually results in severe lacerations or crushing injuries to the foot or hand that may require amputation.

Liability in Movable Walkway Accidents

Movable walkways are ideal for traveling from one location to another in a building or large area and especially so for people who are moving about with luggage and bags such as travelers inside airports. However, movable walkways make use of powerful machinery with many moving parts that can be dangerous to those using these convenient modes of transportation. Commercial property owners, maintenance companies and service & repair firms can be held liable if someone is seriously injured on a movable walkway.

Often times, it is found that the maintenance companies responsible for making sure movable walkways are safe to use are found liable for injuries sustained by people using these walks.

If you have been injured in a California movable walkway accident you may be able to receive financial compensation for your injuries. Depending upon the circumstances of the accident, the property owner, manufacturer, installer or maintenance company responsible for maintaining the walkway may be held liable for your injuries.

Hogan Injury helps people who’ve been injured in movable walkway accidents. We urge victims of these types of accidents not to handle their claims alone. While a settlement amount you are offered by an insurance company may be tempting, it’s best to hire a personal injury attorney to fight for your rights.

An experienced California personal injury attorney knows how deal with large insurance companies that are always out for their own best interests. In the future, you may need long-term medical care due to the injuries you’ve sustained. By using an attorney, you will be given the best opportunity for obtaining a high compensation amount to cover all the future medical costs you may face.

Contact the legal team at Hogan Injury today to schedule your no-cost consultation. We are available 24/7 to speak with you.