Find out why lift safety procedures, examination and testing are important to avoid serious accidents - find out what can go wrong.
Lift Accidents and Enforcement in Eastbourne
The council's Environmental Health service has investigated a serious accident which involved an employee falling down the lift shaft from the ground floor to the basement. The lift had become stuck between two floors and when trying to evacuate the employee slipped and fell to the basement.
Fortunately the physical injuries sustained were minimal, however there was the potential for this to be have been a fatal accident. Following our investigation, improvements were made to the lift evacuation procedures and health and safety management systems.
In the last two years, Environmental Health has also served legal Improvement Notices on four premises which breached health and safety laws requiring them to carry out periodic thorough examinations on their passenger lifts.
In addition, we served a Prohibition Notice to stop the use of a lift in another hotel where it was found that it was unsafe to use and presented a serious danger to passengers.
Serious Lift Accident in the National News
In 2005 a hotel group which failed to act on 30 recommendations to upgrade a lift was fined £400,000 after a trapped guest fell to their death.
The lift had become stuck between floors and after 40 minutes staff attempted to rescue the guest as they had been told it would take lift engineers another 30 minutes to get there.
The manager had been trained to do this, but when the guest managed to force the doors open and attempt to climb out, he fell down into the lift shaft and died from multiple injuries. The company had failed to act upon the lift engineers recommendations.
Avoiding Accidents - Advice for Lift Passengers
There are a few basic safety tips to keep in mind:
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Enter and leave a lift carefully
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Be aware of the doors and the level of the floor
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Keep your hands away from the opening
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Look before you step in or out
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If you spot something which may be unsafe, report it
