THE LIFT FATALITY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18195, 14 September 1922, Page 5

THE LIFT FATALITY.

EVIDENCE AT THE INQUEST.

QUESTION OF OPEN DOOR.

EXPERT VIEW OF ACCIDENT.

The adjourned inquest into the death of Andrew Lawrie, aged 81, who was killed through falling down the lift-well in Williamson Chambers, Shortland Street, on September 6, was held yesterday before Mr. J. E. Wilson, S.M., coroner. Sergeant Flannigan appeared on behalf of the police, the family of the deceased was represented by Mr. McNab, and Mr. Johnston appeared for Turnbull and Jones, Ltd., who hold a contract for the maintenance of the lift. The accident occurred at about 2.30 o'clock in the afternoon. The lift is an automatic one, there being no attendant. Adah Copeland, school teacher, said she intended using the lift, but as the cage was not on the ground floor she walked up the stairs. Hearing the door on the ground floor opened, she looked down and saw a man walk in as if the cage was • there, and fall. The doo r on the ground floor had looked to her as if it were shut. Dr. E. W. Sharman gave evidence that death was due to syncope following a fracture of the skull. Inspection by Electrician. Thomas Moody, electrician, employed by Turnbull and Jones, Ltd., said that in company with Mr. Stephens, branch manager, he examined the lift at about 4 o'clock on the afternoon of the accident. He tried the ground floor door and found it did Dot open when the cagewas not there. If it was properly closed and the cage -was not there, the door could not be opened unless undue force were used. He hardly thought the door, being properly shut, could be opened by an old man. Tho lift, was inspected weekly, the last inspection prior to September 6 being on August 30, the report, stating that everything was correct. It should not be possiblo to open a door into the lift-well unless the cage was at that level, because there was a striker on the cage which released the lock. If tho door was not properly locked the cage could not move. This particular door had previously been found forced and had had to bo repaired. It was possible some dirt became lodged in the lock of the door and held the bolt for the one trip. The door must have been closed before tho cage could move away. To Mr. McNab: The door shouid slide open easily. On the day of the accident he gave a good strong, steady pull in trying to open the door when the cage was not there. There was no mark of recent forcing of the lock. The mechanism of these lifts was fairly strong. He considered them quite safe to use. Dirt in the lift-well might have affected the efficient working of the lift. To Mr. Johnston: The lift would not work unless the lift dqpr on each floor was closed. A weekly inspection of the lift was a usual one. The doors were tried at each inspection. •. Frequently Out of Order. R. P. J. Ray, assistant-secretary to the Auckland Education Board, said he frequently used the lift. About three months ago, he went in on the ground floor, and without thinking, opened the door into the lift-well before he found the cage was not there. He did not use much pressure to open the door then. He reported the matter to the caretaker. To Mr. McNab: There had been no previous accident, but about two years ago there was nearly one. On that occasion the lift, with five people in it, dropped like a stone, but fortunately, stopped about 6in. from the basement floor. To Mr. Johnston: Ho could not swear it was the present lift which dropped. The lif* was out of order, and not working, pretty frequently. Edward Roy Walton, electrician, employed by Turnbull and Jones, said he went to "Williamson Chambers at three o'clock oh the afternoon of the accident, and found the lift was being used by passengers. He tried the door on the ground floor, but could not open it when the lift was not there. He pressed the groundfloor button, but the lift did not come down, because someone had left the door on the top floor open. That the deceased opened the door when the lift was not there seemed unexplainable to him. To his knowledge the lift had not been used since the day of the accident, except for us.j by the inspector of machinery. The reason it was put out of action was that he thought there might be an inquiry and the lift had better be left as it was until seen by the authorities. To Mr. McNab: The only complaints about the working of the lift were those due to users leaving the doors open. In reply to Mr. Johnson, witness said his firm .maintained about 50 lifts in the city. The lift at Williamson Chambers was about as good as the average. Inspector of Machinery Examines Lift. Frederick Taylor, caretaker o::' the building for the past 11 years, said he used the lift, on the morning of the accident, when it was working well. The door on the ground floor was in good order, and he bad never known anything wrong with it. There had never been a request that he knew of for an attendant on the lift. Walter George Scott, Government in spector of machinery at Auckland, said ho examined the lift en the day after_ the accident. He found that with an ordinary pull such as he would expect to be used the door on the ground floor would not open when the lift was not there. By exerting greater force, however, and jerkins the door, he could open it. Used legitimately the lock was not dangerous. Witness applied more force than was required. He last inspected the lift on April 13 last. At that time the door could not be opened with the test he gave it after the accident. On the day after the accident he found the cage would no£moye unless all the doors weie closed. He did not see how the deceased could have opened the door except by using force. He unscrewed the lock and examined it and found there w*as nothing wrong with it. He did not think it was necessary to prohibit the use of the lift. Tho depth of the well from the ground floor to the basement was about 12ft. Warnings at the Entrances. To Mr. McNab: On this lift there wore warnings at the entrances to the well and in the cage against attempting to open the doors while the cage was moving or the cage was not at the doorway. To Mr. Johnston: Someone might have opened the doer before deceased, and left it not properly closed. The cage would not work in that case. Sergeant R. Capp said he went to Williamson Chambers at 3.15 on the day of the accident. The door of the liftwell on the ground floor was shut. He tried to open it, but could not. The coroner said that apparently the deceased expected the lift to be at the ground floor, opened the door, and fell. There could be no doubt from the evidence that if the mechanism of the lift were in perfect order it would be impossible for anyone to get into the liftwell. What the reason of the defect was he was quite unable to say. He then returned a formal verdict, and added that the evidence showed the deceased was able to open t'he door of the lift-well on the ground floor while the cage of the lift was at another floor, and that if the mechanism of the lift had been in perfect order this would not be possible. It did not appear what caused the-failure of the mechanism.