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Ames Elevator Fall Update is Posted on The Verdict Blog

Posted on Jul 20, 2009

After returning from vacation I see there is a critical updated on the investigative findings by the Iowa Workforce elevator inspectors. Let’s see where this new evidence points us in terms of liability.

The Iowa Workforce Development elevator inspectors have concluded a safety retainer bracket that is supposed to hold the elevator door in place had been damaged in a previous incident. The doors had previously been found out of their tracks about two months previous to the young Illinois gentleman who fell to his death when the doors collapsed into the shaft. He was pushed by a friend when they were horsing around. But that doesn’t seem all that significant; the horsing around doesn’t seem to be the cause of the door caving in. What it appears likely is that had the door been properly maintained or fixed that it would have held in place that night of June 6, 2009 when Robert Pawlak, 19 of Downers Grove, Illinois got pushed by his friend.

Apparently the state elevator inspectors using subpoenas obtained copies of the inspection reports from December 2008 to the present which provided evidence of the previous problem and prying of the doors to sort of fix them.

So the question is whether this maintenance was proper and legal under the law and standards for fixing elevators. It seems difficult to imagine it is, but I could be wrong; I just don’t know until I’ve read the state reports and the maintenance records. Experts in a wrongful death case on behalf of the decedent will include elevator inspectors and the maintenance person. The statute of limitations in a case such as this would appear to be two years.

Read The Verdict blog post for a complete report. See below.

Update on Ames Elevator Accident Case at Legacy Apartments

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