Suit is filed in Decatur 2012 elevator accident

DECATUR - A three-cable elevator hoist system inside the Simmons Foods, Inc., Decatur feed mill was replaced with two smaller cables nearly two years before an elevator accident in which an employee was dropped an estimated three stories, a lawsuit filed against the elevator repair company, BarnesCo, Inc., of Arkansas City, Kan., alleges.

The lawsuit was filed by accident victim, Larry Bingham, and his wife, Annette Bingham, in the Benton County Circuit Court on June 5.

National Elevator Inspection Service, Inc., of Batesville, also named in the lawsuit, examined the elevator four times between the time the hoist cables were replaced in January of 2011 and the accident in November of 2012 and failed to note the cables did not meet state elevator safety codes, industry standards or the crosshead data plate on the elevator, the lawsuit alleges.

Bingham was traveling inside the feed mill elevator from the second floor to the fourth fl oor on Nov. 23, 2012, when the elevatorfell approximately three stories with Bingham inside, according to a 62-page report from the Arkansas Department of Labor Elevator Safety Division. He was an employee of Siloam Springsbased Simmons Foods at the time of the accident.

The Department of Labor report cites improperly installed wire ropes, inadequate third-party inspections, lack of maintenance to the elevator’s speed governor and a lack of an overall maintenance program as reasons for the accident.

The Binghams are represented by Timothy Myers of Taylor Law Partners of Fayetteville. The lawsuit asks for compensation, as well as punitive damages, and requests a trial by jury.

According to the lawsuit, the elevator actually fell four to fi ve stories.

“The elevator hoist cables and braking system broke and/or failed, and the elevator fell unencumbered at a high rate of speed, crashing to the ground, causing serious, significant and potentially life-threatening injuries to Larry Bingham,” the lawsuit states.

The elevator was designed to have three one-half-inch steel wire hoist ropes, but in January of 2011 BarnesCo replaced the three-cable system with two three-eighthsinch cables, the lawsuit alleges.

The Department of Labor report shows the elevator had two three-eighths-inch hoist cables at the time of the accident. Simmons Foods stored the previouslyused system with three one-half-inch cables in a warehouse, the report states. Photos of the previouslyused cables were included in the report.

The lawsuit also alleges that BarnesCo failed to obtain a permit for the alteration from the Arkansas Department of Labor Elevator Safety Division, in violation of Arkansas Law. The company again violated Arkansas law by failing to have the elevator inspected and to have the required safety tests witnessed by a licensed Elevator Inspector of the Department, the suit claims.

The report from the Arkansas Department of Labor states that, sometime between 2008 and 2011, a new Winsmith gear box and driver with three-eighthsinch diameter cables was installed by an unknown contractor.

“There was no alteration permit obtained, inspectionor test performed, which is required by state law,” the report states.

On Jan. 27, 2011, Barnes Company of Arkansas City, Kan., replaced cable on the elevator, according to an invoice included in the report.

“Cables are a maintenance issue and do not require testing,” the Department of Labor report states.

BarnesCo admitted that it was a company doing business in Arkansas and that it did service an elevator for Simmons Foods, Inc., in January of 2011 but denied all other allegations in an answer, filed by law firm Anderson, Murphy and Hopkins, LLP, of Little Rock, on July 10. The answer also states that any injury sustained by the plaintiffs is the fault of the plaintiffs or third parties over which the defendant has no control.

NEIS inspected the elevator four times between the time the hoist cables were replaced in January of 2011 and the accident in November of 2012, according to the lawsuit.

The Arkansas Department of Labor report shows NEIS inspected the elevator inJanuary of 2011, August of 2011, March of 2012 and August of 2012. The report contains bi-annual inspection reports from the company dated February, 2011, and August, 2012, which state that no violations or defi - ciencies were found in the elevator’s machine rooms, hoist ways, pit and cab.

The lawsuit alleges NEIS failed to note the ropes replaced by BarnesCo, Inc., did not meet state elevator safety codes, industry standards, or the cross-head data plate on the elevator.

NEIS, represented by the law firm Barber, McCaskill, Jones & Hale, P.A. of Little Rock, denied all allegations in an answer filed on July 17.

The answer also denied that NEIS inspected the elevator in order to certify that it was safe for operation or use. Instead the purpose of the inspection was to determine whether the elevator complied with state standards and, if not, to notify Simmons Foods so the company could take corrective action, the answer states.

A pretrial hearing before Judge John Scott is set for Nov. 4.

News, Pages 1 on 09/04/2013