Back in December of 2007 there was an escalator accident at Giants Stadium that left several people injured —one man ended up losing part of his leg and another has had to undergo numerous surgeries on his foot. Opening arguments began on Monday in Hackensack at the state Superior Court. The lawsuit has been brought up against the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority who operates the stadium and the company that maintained the escalator.
The Associated Press reported that by midday Monday the escalator company, the Schindler Group, reached a settlement with the victims for an undisclosed amount. The trial will continue in the Superior Court against the NJSEA.
The attorney for Schindler, Ed DePascale spoke with the Associated Press explaining that, “the parties have been engaged for quite some time in negotiations, and those negotiations concluded a short time ago. The company expresses its sympathy to all the plaintiffs and wishes them the best.”
The attorneys for the plaintiffs made very compelling opening statements. They explained, very graphically, the events and injuries that resulted and they also presented photos of the injuries. Those who witnessed the accident 4 years ago remember that the escalator sped up and then stopped suddenly causing people to fall to the bottom.
Michael Harris was the victim who underwent a below the knee amputation. He made a statement to reporters on Monday explaining how he felt when the accident occurred. He said that when the escalator began to malfunction he believed he would have time to safely get off.
“I thought I would jump right off it by the time we got to the bottom, except that when I got to the bottom I couldn’t jump—the steps broke apart and swallowed my leg,” he said.
He did not have the amputation immediately; he had to endure five surgeries and almost three years of treatment before the amputation in December 2010. The other victim who has had numerous surgeries is Joseph Capuano; he has gone through more than a dozen procedures and still may lose his foot.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys also noted that there had been another escalator accident in 2000 and that the operators of Giants Stadium knew what would result from overloading the escalators yet did nothing to prevent it. One attorney, Michael Noonan, said in his opening statement that the escalator collapsed amongst the sounds of “snapping steel, twisting steel, and shattering limbs.”
New Jersey personal injury attorney Richard Console said, “I am glad to hear that the escalator company has owned up to their involvement in the accident. I hope that the stadium representatives will do the same or that the jury holds them accountable for their negligence in regards to maintaining safety on their property.”
The sports authority maintains that the fault lies completely with the escalator company for failing to replace a part. They also ascertain that no witnesses would be able to testify that the escalators were overcrowded that day because they most likely do not know how to measure that. The trial is supposed to resume today.
