The operators of a Las Vegas hotel and casino are being sued in connection with an accident that claimed the life of a visitor in July 2021. A man suffered serious injuries when he fell and struck his head while traveling on a moving escalator in the Suncoast Hotel and Casino, and he succumbed to his injuries 23 days later. The lawsuit also names the elevator company that manufactured the moving escalator as a defendant.
No warning signs
The deceased man was using a walker when he entered the moving escalator. His widow says the hotel and casino should have placed a sign to warn visitors that using walkers on the moving escalator could be dangerous. She also alleges that the escalator was defective because a “hump” on the walkway caused her husband to fall backwards and strike his head. The premises liability lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorney’s fees.
Calls for help go unanswered
After falling, the man was dragged for several minutes because his shirt had become caught in the walkway mechanism. His widow says that she called for help several times while her husband was being dragged by the moving escalator, but no hotel and casino employees responded or stopped the machine. She claims in her court pleadings that the hotel and casino failed to adequately maintain the escalator, which allowed a dangerous condition to develop.
Establishing liability
Premises owners or occupiers are held responsible for injuries in accidents like this one when they fail to do all that they reasonably can to protect their visitors from foreseeable harm. In order to prevail, the plaintiffs in this case must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the hotel and casino either knew or should have known that the moving escalator posed a threat to visitors with walkers.