The elevator in which an employee at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth,, Texas, was seriously hurt has had a history of maintenance and safety problems dating back to at least 2015, according to an article on the Star-Telegram website.
The elevator had been out of service at least four times in the year before the accident, including for at least two weeks in the month prior to Jan. 20, the date of the accident. The elevator has not been put back into service.
In 2015, the elevator was flagged for having undersized hoist ropes and for problems with the pressure setting on its door-closure system, according to records.
Records also show that the hospital’s elevators were out of service at least 42 times from January 2018 to January 2019s. At least one other person has been hurt — suffering a serious head injury on May 20, 2018 — in an elevator accident.
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