Rubber shoes and escalators cause personal injury to children

Anneke Kurt

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Children across America are suffering personal injuries when their rubber shoes are caught in escalators. "Crocs" as one popular brand is called, swept the United States as a shoe that is "comfortable, cool, and molds to your feet," according to Croc's website. Our Toledo, Ohio personal injury attorneys have seen injuries as a result of accidents on elevators and escalators, and nothing is more disturbing than when it happens to a helpless child. Nurses, chefs, even President Bush could be seen wearing the shoes, but young children should probably not wear the slip-on shoes.

CNN found that more and more children are getting their feet trapped in escalator stairs when the shoes get stuck between the escalator step and the sidewall of the moving stairwell. The incidents result in cuts and gashes along the feet, toenails being ripped off, and twisted or sprained ankles and feet. While it is hard to pin point how many of the 10,000 escalator-related emergency room visits each year are caused by shoes getting stuck, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it shouldn't take a statistic to prove that small children should not be wearing slip-on type shoes. Young kids have a tendency to jump and move around, especially on escalators, increasing their risk for an accident.

Children should never ride an escalator unattended, and parents should hold kids' hands going both up and down. The Consumer Product Safety Commission encourages kids to face the front and stay as still as possible, while holding the handrail, and parents should be aware of any untied shoelaces, loose drawstrings, hats or gloves that could potentially get caught.

For more informtion on this subject, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.