Girl Loses Two Toes in Macy's Escalator Trap, Family Recovers $15 Million from Macy's and ThyssenKrupp

On August 16, 2013, a 10-year-old girl was riding an escalator with her family inside the Macy's store at Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, when her right sneaker was caught in the gap between a step and the escalator's side panel. The machine continued moving, pulling her foot and lower leg into the mechanism. A bystander located the emergency stop button, halting the escalator, but by then her leg was trapped below the knee. Emergency responders had to dismantle part of the landing to free her.

She was rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center, where she remained for nearly three months. Doctors fought to save her foot but were forced to amputate two toes. Over the years that followed, she endured 22 surgeries in total and had to relearn how to walk.

Attorney Samuel Davis of Davis Saperstein and Salomon filed suit on behalf of the family in federal court, naming Macy's Inc. and ThyssenKrupp Elevator Corporation as defendants. The complaint alleged that the escalator dated to when the mall opened in 1958, giving it a service life far beyond the 20-to-25-year industry standard. It also alleged that the escalator's temporary operating certificate had expired on July 31, 2013, more than two weeks before the accident, and that required maintenance had never been completed. An inspection scheduled before the incident had been canceled and the unit was not replaced until after the girl was hurt.

Davis argued that the gap between steps was twice the permitted width, that a cracked internal support member had gone unaddressed, and that neither Macy's nor ThyssenKrupp, which held the maintenance contract, had taken the machine out of service despite knowing its condition.

In May 2016, Macy's and ThyssenKrupp agreed to a combined $15 million settlement. Neither party admitted liability. No reduction on appeal has been reported in available coverage.