Top 3 Injuries Caused by Revolving Doors
Legend has it that the inventor of the revolving door came up with the idea because he didn’t like to hold doors open for women. In actuality, Theophilus Van Kannel just wanted to invent a door that would keep out snow and rain, and wouldn’t be blown open by the wind.
Regardless of the true nature of its origin, revolving doors today are known for their convenience and their potential to cause disabling and life-threatening injuries.
Facial trauma
Some of the most common injuries caused by revolving doors involve the face. Incidents involving revolving doors have been reported in which pedestrians suffered broken noses and fractured teeth. These injuries can occur with either motorized or manual automatic doors. During one incident, for example, a mother pushing a stroller was entering a building, and a woman was exiting the building while talking on her cellphone. The motorized, automatic door stopped just as it was supposed to because it sensed the presence of the stroller in close proximity to the door. The woman who was exiting the building smashed her face into the glass panel. The glass panel broke, and so did two of her front teeth.
A similar accident occurred in which an elderly man was entering a building while two young ladies were exiting. The women were distracted by their conversation, and had positioned themselves very close to the panel while walking. The man entering the building came in close proximity with the crush protection sensor, which responded by halting the movement of the door panels. This caused one of the ladies to walk into the door panel, breaking her nose.
Hip fractures
At least two revolving door accidents have caused hip fractures, which are known to be among the most disabling and even life-threatening types of injuries among seniors. A 91-year-old literary agent in New York City, Marianne Strong, filed a personal injury lawsuit after a revolving door caused her to be propelled out from the building. She landed on the sidewalk and broke her hip.
In 1997, former San Francisco 49ers football star Vincent Rovetti was struck by a revolving door at the San Francisco Marriott. He fell and broke his hip. During the subsequent surgery, Rovetti suffered a fatal heart attack.
Skull and brain injuries
Skull and brain injuries are among the most fatal injuries caused by revolving doors. In one incident, a 19-month-old boy had his arm caught in a narrow gap in a revolving door. Efforts to free the arm only resulted in the boy being dragged farther into the gap. By the time he was finally rescued, resuscitation efforts were futile. He was declared dead from compression injuries of the skull and brain, as well as thoracic compression.
Were you or a family member injured by a revolving door? You need a seasoned litigator who has a track record of securing maximum compensation for injured clients. In southern California, families count on Andy Ellis, an award-winning personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles.
Call Ellis Injury Law at 888-981-9214 to request your free case review.
Additional resources about revolving door injuries
- National Institutes of Health, Traumatic asphyxia–fatal accident in an automatic revolving door, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25753384
- New York Post, Essex House revolving door focus of lawsuit, https://nypost.com/2013/09/29/essex-house-revolving-door-focus-of-lawsuit/