Page 44 of The Steel Kiss (Lincoln Rhyme 12)
WRONGFUL DEATH/PAIN AND SUFFERING CIVIL LAWSUIT
- Location of incident: Heights View Mall, Brooklyn.
- Victim: Greg Frommer, 44, clerk with Pretty Lady Shoes in mall.
- Store clerk, left Patterson Systems as Director of Marketing. Will attempt to show he would have returned to a similar or other higher-income job.
- COD: Loss of blood, internal organ trauma.
- Cause of action:
- Wrongful death/personal injury tort suit.
- Strict products liability.
- Negligence.
- Breach of implied warranty.
- Damages: compensatory, pain and suffering, possibly punitive. To be determined.
- Possible defendants:
- Midwest Conveyance, Inc. (manufacturer of escalator).
- Owner of property mall is located on (to be identified).
- Developer of mall (to be identified).
- Service maintaining escalator if other than manufacturer (to be identified).
- General and subcontractors installing escalator (to be identified).
- Cleaning crew?
- Additional defendants?
- Facts relevant to accident:
- Access panel opened spontaneously, victim fell into gears. Opened about 16 inches.
- Door weighed 42 pounds, sharp teeth on front contributed to death/injury.
- Door secured by latch. On springs. It popped open for unknown reason.
- Switch behind locked panel. On video no one appeared to push switch.
- Reasons for failure?
- switch or servo motor activated spontaneously. Why?
- Shorted out? Other electrical problem?
- Latch failed.
- Metal fatigue--possible, not likely.
- Didn't seat properly.
