Boy Injured in China Gets $3.35M Verdict in Mass.
The escalator accident that left a 4-year-old’s hand severely injured, happened in China. But American jurors decided the case, this week awarding $3.35 million after a trial in Massachusetts.
In addition to holding the escalator’s Chinese manufacturer liable, a jury in Worcester Superior Court held the U.S.-based Otis Elevator Co. responsible for the escalator’s defects, according to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
“Even though it was made by a Chinese joint venture, we were able to convince a jury that Otis was the force that got the escalator into the commercial stream,” Boston plaintiff attorney Jeffrey S. Raphaelson is quoted saying.
Otis Elevator Co. planned to appeal, the weekly reports.
The case involves a 1998 accident, in which Kevin Lou, then 4, of Worcester, was visiting his grandparents in China. He fell while riding the escalator and his hand became trapped and was nearly amputated.
The boy’s family reportedly first tried to file against the Chinese manufacturer, but their efforts were rebuffed by high litigation costs. Once in court in the U.S., the plaintiffs had to overcome issues with discovery, witnesses and lost evidence.
“We couldn’t conduct formal discovery in China because it is illegal to conduct it there for an action pending outside [the country],” Raphaelson told Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
