DISCLAIMER: Please note that every case is different and these verdicts and settlements, while accurate, do not represent what we may obtain for you in your case.

$644,000 Jury Verdict for Death from Fall down Elevator Shaft

Daniel Ryan and Frank Carretero recently tried a case for the wrongful death of Lin Green against Otis Elevator Company in the City of St. Louis Circuit Court.  The suit was brought by Lin's widowed husband.

Lin worked in the Masonic Temple building located on Lindell Blvd.  As she arrived for work, she saw two co-workers trying to pry open the jammed elevator door, as a shipment of water jugs was coming in that had to be taken to another floor. The maintenance man was not present, but he instructed the women who were trying to open the elevator on how to pry open the doors. There was a rod that needed to be inserted into a hole in the elevator door which would make the door pop open. The ladies followed the maintenance worker's instructions and were able to get one of the two elevator doors opened.  However, when the door opened, they observed that the floor of the cab was not even with the floor outside the elevator, so Lin and the two other employees tried to pry open the other elevator door.  Sadly, when the door opened, the cab of the elevator was actually on the floor above.  Lin lost her balance, and she fell down the elevator shaft to her death. 

Mr. Ryan contended that the elevator should have been equipped with a parking brake that would have prevented the door from being opened if the cab wasn't even with the floor.  Attorneys for Otis Elevator argued that the brake had been installed, but some unidentified person had removed it. Ultimately, the jury found for Lin Green and awarded her widower $644,000 for her death. 

Awarded: $644,000