There was a fatality in Burlingame CA in 1995 that led me to develop the 'LifeJacket', a Safety for Hydraulic Elevators. Since it is now on the market and getting more and more notice, I have heard and seen documentation of over twenty fatalities due to pressure system failures, plus innumerable injuries. If you have any knowledge of this kind of accident, please leave a note of the details as I am trying to compile statistics.

For example, in 1994, two persons were killed instantly and later another died of their injuries when the bottom blew out of a cylinder in Cincinnati OH. The first major report of catastrophic injuries occurred in Flint MI at a GM plant in 1970, where the bottom of a cylinder also gave way, injuring several high level GM executives.

The LifeJacket and it's concept is not new, since Flint there have been seven patents issued for "Plunger Gripping" type Safeties. I feel it is time to ask our industry why a Hydraulic elevator is less an elevator than a traction, why don't hydro's have a Safety.

-- John Koshak (John_Koshak@AdamsElevator.com), January 01, 1999