Elevator and Escalator Accidents in Georgia

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When someone is hurt on an elevator or escalator in Georgia, the statute places the duty to keep the equipment in a safe operating condition on its owner or lessee, the state’s rules divide responsibility among the owner, the permit holder, and anyone installing or repairing the equipment, and an injury accident triggers a prompt telephone report and removal of the equipment from service. The Court of Appeals has described the building owner’s duty to passengers as one of extraordinary diligence that cannot be handed off to a repair contractor. Those duties, and the inspection, maintenance, and accident records they produce, are where a claim starts.

Who Is Responsible for the Equipment

OCGA 8-2-101(b) provides that “[e]very elevator, dumbwaiter, manlift, moving walk, and escalator shall be maintained by the owner or lessee in a safe operating condition and in conformity with the rules and regulations specified by subsection (b) of Code Section 8-2-104.” The Safety Fire Commissioner’s rules then assign responsibility at each stage (Rule 120-3-25-.06):

  • Installation and repair. “[T]he person, firm or corporation installing, repairing, relocating or altering an elevator shall be responsible for its safe operation, test and maintenance until the elevator is inspected and approved by a certified deputy inspector” (subsection (1)).
  • Ownership. “[T]he owner of the equipment shall be responsible for the safe operation and proper maintenance of the elevator,” and maintenance records “shall be maintained at the location for a period of three (3) years, with the exception of the five (5) year testing, which will be kept for five (5) years” (subsection (2)).
  • The operating permit. “[T]he holder of the operating permit shall be responsible for all Code required testing and Code compliance” (subsection (3)).

In those rules, “Elevators” means “Elevators, Escalators, Dumbwaiters, Material lifts, Manlifts, Moving Walks, or Platform Lifts (Wheelchair Lifts) or Stairway Chairlifts where the Rule is applicable in accordance with the adopted Codes and Standards” (Rule 120-3-25-.03(11)).

The Standard of Care Owed to Passengers

A building owner owes elevator passengers extraordinary diligence, and that duty stays with the owner even when an independent contractor repairs and maintains the elevator. The Court of Appeals stated the rule in Brady v. Elevator Specialists, Inc., No. A07A1115 (Ga. Ct. App. Aug. 20, 2007), relying on earlier decisions including Lane v. Montgomery Elevator Co. (1997) and Millar Elevator Service Co. v. O’Shields (1996), and it treated the maintenance company’s duty to passengers as at least a heightened standard of ordinary care. A higher standard does not replace proof of cause. In Brady, a man using a wheelchair fell backward while leaving an elevator that had stopped above the landing, and the court affirmed summary judgment, holding that without competent evidence that the maintenance company’s alleged negligence caused the injury there was no question for a jury; it also pointed to the company’s inspection program for the elevator.

Inspection and Permits

Equipment erected or placed in service after January 1, 1986, must be inspected before it is placed in service and registered within 15 days after it is completed and placed in service (OCGA 8-2-101(a)). Power passenger and freight elevators, escalators, manlifts, and moving walks “shall be inspected once during each 12 month period,” except that equipment in facilities governed by Article 2 of Chapter 9 of Title 32 is inspected once during each six-month period (OCGA 8-2-102(a)(1)). No elevator, escalator, manlift, moving walk, or dumbwaiter may be operated by its owner or lessee without a valid operating permit, or a limited operating permit where the Commissioner’s rules allow one, and a permit is valid for 12 months (OCGA 8-2-103(a), (b)).

The statute adopts ANSI A17.1-1984 as a rule “until otherwise amended by rules and regulations of the Commissioner” (OCGA 8-2-104(c)), and the Commissioner’s rules list “ASME A17.1, 2019 Edition, American National Standard Safety Code for elevators, escalators, dumbwaiters, moving walks” among the adopted codes (Rule 120-3-25-.02). The enforcement authority is the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire, the office’s officers and inspectors, and authorized local inspectors (OCGA 8-2-100(5); Rule 120-3-25-.03(8)). A violation of the part is a misdemeanor, and the Commissioner may, after notice and hearing, levy civil penalties of up to $5,000 (OCGA 8-2-107(b)).

When an Injury Happens

The owner or lessee must report every elevator, escalator, manlift, moving walk, or power dumbwaiter accident involving personal injury or death to the enforcement authority by telephone on the same day or by noon on the next work day, excluding state holidays and weekends, and must file a report with all documentation of the accident by the end of the next business day (OCGA 8-2-106(a)). The equipment “shall be removed from service at the time of the accident” and “shall not be repaired, altered, or placed back in service until inspected by a certified inspector for the enforcement authority” (OCGA 8-2-106(c)).

The rules add a written report, “including witness statements, within seven days of the date of the incident or of the date the incident became known to the owner, operator, lessee, or maintenance company, whichever is later” (Rule 120-3-25-.07(1)(c)), and a report of an accident involving personal injury “shall include the name(s), address, phone number and injuries of the person(s) injured and any witnesses” (Rule 120-3-25-.07(3)).

How the Records Have Mattered in a Georgia Case

In Scarbrough v. Dover Elevator Co. (Ga. Ct. App. 1998), a woman tripped entering a hospital’s hydraulic elevator whose threshold had stopped above the floor because of defective leveling valves. The Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment for the hospital. It pointed to evidence that the hospital knew of the leveling problem from service calls, employee complaints, and maintenance logs, and to the hospital’s refusal of its maintenance contractor’s recommendation to replace the valves, and it held that the evidence did not establish that the woman knew of the danger before entering.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the state statute cover a wheelchair lift or a stairway chairlift?
The Commissioner’s rules include platform lifts and stairway chairlifts where a rule applies under the adopted codes (Rule 120-3-25-.03(11)). The statute does not apply to a single-seat, single-passenger chairlift in a building owned and operated by a nonprofit organization organized and operated exclusively for educational, religious, charitable, or other eleemosynary purposes (OCGA 8-2-109.1(b)).

Can a city or county inspect elevators itself?
Yes. A municipality or county that adopts at least the state’s minimum inspection and safety standards may enforce them by ordinance, inspect buildings, and employ inspectors who meet state qualifications and are certified by the Commissioner (OCGA 8-2-105(a)), and such a local government is audited semiannually for compliance (OCGA 8-2-109.1(c)).

What happens when a privately inspected elevator’s inspection is late?
Equipment subject to operating permit inspections by private inspectors must be inspected within 60 calendar days following the required reinspection date, and an inspection not performed in that period results in a civil penalty of $500 for each unit not inspected (OCGA 8-2-104(b)(2)).

Can a stopped escalator be used as stairs?
No. Under the Commissioner’s rules, “[e]scalators shall not be used as stairs in any location,” and a temporarily shut down escalator “will be barricaded with a secure barricade at both the top and bottom landing” (Rule 120-3-25-.06(11)).

  • OCGA 8-2-100(5); OCGA 8-2-101(a), (b); OCGA 8-2-102(a)(1); OCGA 8-2-103(a), (b); OCGA 8-2-104(b)(2), (c); OCGA 8-2-105(a); OCGA 8-2-106(a), (c); OCGA 8-2-107(b); OCGA 8-2-109.1(b), (c)
  • Rules and Regulations of the Safety Fire Commissioner, Subject 120-3-25 (Rules .02, .03(8), .03(11), .06, .07)
  • Brady v. Elevator Specialists, Inc., No. A07A1115 (Ga. Ct. App. Aug. 20, 2007); Lane v. Montgomery Elevator Co. (1997) and Millar Elevator Service Co. v. O’Shields (1996) (as cited in Brady)
  • Scarbrough v. Dover Elevator Co. (Ga. Ct. App. 1998)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about the Georgia statutes and rules that bear on elevator and escalator injuries. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. The rights of an injured person depend on the facts, on the equipment involved, and on strict deadlines. Anyone with an actual or potential claim should consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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