A devastating event at a Bellaire H-E-B store has sparked a legal battle, as the family of a 3-year-old girl who tragically lost four of her fingers in an escalator accident is suing both the grocery chain and TK Elevator Corporation. They are seeking over $1 million in damages for the injuries sustained, which they argue were preventable had proper maintenance and safety procedures been followed. According to a press release by Attorney Ben Crump, obtained by KSAT, the lawsuit alleges negligence, gross negligence, and premises liability.
The incident occurred on March 30, when the young girl’s hand was drawn into a gap between the escalator steps and the skirt, despite the attempts by her parents, the child did not receive aid in time to preserve her fingers. FOX 26 Houston reports that the escalator's safety switches should have activated to halt the machinery, however, due to being defective, they failed, which contributed to the severity of the girl’s injuries.
Attorney Ben Crump stated in the press release, "This tragic incident has forever altered the life of a 3-year-old child and her family," noting that the defendants failed in their basic duty to keep customers safe.The lawsuit holds that the escalator was improperly maintained, which allowed for the creation of a dangerous gap that caused the injury, and criticizes the defendants for not preserving key evidence when the escalator was put back into service too swiftly, complicating investigatory efforts after the fact, as mentioned by KSAT.
The family besides seeking damages for their daughter's physical and emotional trauma, they want to push for industry-wide changes to improve safety and prevent such horrific accidents from occurring to any other child, KSAT details a call for reforms that lies at the heart of the family's legal action, as echoed in Crump's assertion, that "The defendants failed in their basic duty to keep customers safe, and their negligence resulted in a young child losing her fingers in a horrific incident that could have been avoided with proper maintenance," which was a completely preventable situation born from carelessness and disregard for customer welfare.
