Personal injury lawyers are often contacted by potential clients after being injured by a defective automatic door. Many public and private buildings have automatic doors at their entrances and even inside the buildings. They are commonplace shopping malls, grocery stores, medical buildings and hospitals, office buildings, airports, and major retail stores.
Automatic doors serve many useful purposes. They provide convenience for entry and exit and also offer energy savings. They also help with the flow of traffic inside and outside the store and make it convenient for customers, especially those carrying large items. Automatic doors also provide easy access for people in wheelchairs and those who have physical limitations.
While convenient and customer-friendly, these doors are very heavy and often close quickly. When these doors strike a person, the injuries are often very serious. A defective or malfunctioning door poses a significant risk of harm to the public, especially senior citizens and children.
Under state laws, property owners and businesses must make their premises safe for invitees and guests. When they fail to do so and someone is injured, it can give rise to a premises liability lawsuit. To win a successful outcome, the injured party’s attorney will need to establish a defect with the doors.
In many states, the party must also show that the defendant knew or should have known of the defect prior to the incident that caused the injury. This can be proven by showing previous similar incidents with the same doors. Or, prior complaints by customers and staff about problems with the doors.
Further, many state laws require that the property owner regularly inspect the premises for harmful defects. This could include regular inspections and testing on the automatic doors. Businesses should also have regularly scheduled maintenance of the doors and keep maintenance logs that include the date, time, and name of the person who inspected the doors.
Automatic door injuries and sliding door accidents occur for a number of reasons. These include an improper installation of the doors and improper maintenance. Most doors open and close due to censors and if these censors are missing, broken, or not properly aligned, the result can be the doors closing prematurely and striking a person entering or exiting the building. Additionally, if the doors are not properly timed and close too quickly, a person can suffer a serious injury.
Cases can be filed against the owner of the property and often the tenant. If the injury was caused by defective parts, a claim can also be made against the door manufacturer. Also, if an outside contractor was hired by the business for maintenance of the doors, that company is also a potential defendant.
Automatic door injury includes compensation for physical pain and suffering, disability, loss of enjoyment of life, and other non-economic type losses. Recoverable damages can also be claimed for medical expenses and lost wages. In event of an untimely death, the family members can file a wrongful death lawsuit to seek compensation for the loss of a loved one.
