NYC and Manhattan Escalator Accident Lawyer

It depends on who owns, controls and maintains that escalator. The building or station owner, a managing agent, the elevator company hired to inspect and service it, and sometimes the manufacturer can all be involved. Service contracts, maintenance tickets and inspection filings usually show who had the job of keeping it safe and what they knew before the accident.

Subway stations are run by MTA agencies, and public-authority claims move fast. Public Authorities Law 1276 applies the General Municipal Law 50-e notice of claim (generally due within 90 days) to actions against the MTA, requires at least 30 days between presenting the claim and suing, and sets a one-year-and-90-day limit. It also says the notice-of-claim requirement does not apply to an MTA subsidiary corporation, so identifying the right agency matters.

Claims against private owners and companies are generally subject to the three-year limitations period for personal injury in CPLR 214. That is more time than a public claim, but escalators are repaired quickly after an incident, so the condition at the time of the accident should be documented and preserved early.

NYC's elevator inspection rule, 1 RCNY 103-02, defines "elevator" to include escalators and moving walkways. For covered equipment, it sets an annual Category 1 test cycle and a periodic inspection each year at least three months from the Category 1 test. The applicable testing requirements must be checked for the particular device. Defects found must be corrected within 90 days, and hazardous conditions immediately. Those filings and correction records can show what was known before an accident.

Get medical care, and ask the station agent, store or building manager to make a written incident report and give you its number. Photograph the escalator, the step or comb plate involved, any warning signs and the posted inspection certificate. Keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing, and write down witnesses' names. Note any cameras nearby so the footage can be requested before it is recorded over.

For a child, CPLR 208 generally extends a three-year limitations period to three years after the disability of infancy ends. That does not help with a notice of claim against a public authority, which should still be served within 90 days; a late notice requires an application to the court under General Municipal Law 50-e. Children's foot and hand entrapment injuries should be documented with the shoes and clothing kept as evidence.

Yes. We represent people hurt on escalators in Manhattan subway and transit stations, department stores, office towers and other buildings, and throughout New York City and Long Island. If an elevator rather than an escalator was involved, our elevator accident page explains those claims.