Our elevator and escalator experts are industry veterans who worked for manufacturers, installation contractors, and maintenance companies. Our experts understand how this specialized equipment is designed to function and can reliably identify if a malfunction in elevator or escalator equipment contributed to the injuries or loss in your case.

Elevators, Escalators & Moving Walkways

Elevators, escalators, and moving walkways are considered among the safest modes of transportation. Considering there are over 210 billion passengers annually in the United States and Canada, there are relatively few passenger injuries.

Despite the favorable safety record, the experts at Robson Forensic have been retained to investigate more than 500 incidents involving this equipment. Our experts are commonly retained when passengers are injured in the course of riding an elevator, escalator, or moving walk. As part of this casework, our experts will typically inspect the incident equipment and review maintenance and inspection records in order to develop a technical opinion as to how and why the incident occurred.

Our elevator experts are qualified to provide these opinions by way of their training, education, and experience; they learned the industry by working through the ranks as mechanics, inspectors, and designers. Not only do our experts have experience installing, repairing, and modernizing this equipment, they have also managed and trained the people who do the work.

Common Incidents in Expert Witness Investigations

• Elevators - Elevator incidents involving passengers typically fall into one of three categories: 1) errant door function (hit by door), 2) unexpected acceleration/deceleration (loss of balance), and 3) misleveling incidents (trips over threshold) . Our experts are familiar with the causes of these incidents and the standards designed to reduce their occurrence.
• Escalators - Escalators expose riders to potentially severe consequences. Many of the incidents we investigate are related to handrail malfunctions or a failure in the braking mechanism that causes riders to lose balance. We also see many cases involving entrapment in steps, combs, and handrails.
• Moving Walkways - Incidents on moving walkways typically occur at the end of the walk as people transition back to stationary ground, or when belts unexpectedly start or stop. The industry has implemented safety measures to protect riders from these incidents and our experts can address their relevance specific to your case.

Elevator Worker Safety

Advances in elevator safety have prioritized passenger safety over that of the worker. In this industry, where confined spaces are the norm and elevator down-time is penalized, it is not unusual to hear of an elevator technician working perilously close to operating passenger cars.

As veterans of the industry who have done the actual work, our elevator experts are uniquely qualified to compare the occupational hazards that are reasonable within this industry, against those that are outrageous.

Elevator/Escalator Evidence & Testing

Robson Forensic offers a fully appointed mechanical testing laboratory to assist our clients with the inspection and storage of evidence in elevator and escalator cases. Our lab facilities can accommodate large evidence items and are equipped to perform testing on a variety of electrical and mechanical devices. Visit our Mechanical Testing Laboratory page for more information.

Elevator & Escalator Anatomy

Most people have never seen the mechanical and electrical components that drive and control these complex systems. To facilitate your understanding of this equipment, we have prepared anatomy documents that lay it out. Consider having these documents opens when speaking with your expert.

• Elevator Anatomy
• Escalator Anatomy 

Discuss Your Case With an Expert

Call or submit an inquiry to tell us about your case. Once we determine which expert is best qualified to assist, we will put you in direct contact.