[WSBARP] Trapped in a Malfunctioning Elevator

[Jim Doran]

This is really off topic so I will make it short.

Does anyone know who I could talk to about the duty of a public hospital to
rescue a person trapped in one of their elevators?  This poor woman was
trapped for three hours into the late night while the Hospital sent for the
elevator technician from Seattle to come to Bellingham to open the elevator
door.  She was going through panic attacks and made it very clear that she
wanted out.

The Hospital says that their "Elevator Failure Protocols" allowed them to
delay as they did for three hours.  I do not think that elevator protocols
would override the common law theories of "invitee" and the duty to act
appropriately to open the elevator door.  The fire department could have
had the door open in 15 minutes but it would have caused some damage to the
elevator.  Instead the woman has been seeing a psychologist for over a year
to deal with the "trapped post traumatic stress".  It was pretty bad.

The hospital's insurance (managed by Sedgwick)  has denied any liability
for the woman's PTSD.

Oh, the woman's husband was in the hospital post heart surgery and she was
on her way to visit him when the City of Bellingham had a power
failure that was the original cause of the elevator failure.  The issue is
leaving her trapped in the elevator for so long.

Any thoughts or directions on this would be appreciated.  We don't want to
file the lawsuit until getting fairly comfortable with this legal question
about "protocols vs. common law duties".

Jim Doran

James R. Doran
Attorney at Law
100 E. Pine Street -  Suite 205
Bellingham, WA 98225
(360)393-9506
jim at doranlegal.com
www.doranlegal.com
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