LIFT FATALITY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18238, 24 November 1924, Page 4

LIFT FATALITY.

INQUEST CONCLUDED. ">"o 0110 seems to ho blameworthy for his death," said tho Coroner, Mr Wyvern Wilson, at the inquost on tho body of Alexander Johnstone, liftman, who received fatal injuries in a lift accident at the Hereford Court building on tho 17th inst. deceased was a married man residing at 372 'Worcester street, Linwcod.

Mr A. W. Brown represented the widow. Mr F. S. "Wilding the Hereford Court Company, Mr F. "W. Johnston Turnbull and .Tone?, and Mr R. Twyneham the tenants of Hereford Court. Dr. Young, house surgeon at the Christchurch Hospital, said deceased was admitted to the Hospital at 2.30 p.m. on November 17th, by Dr. Jenning. Witness'saw him at about fivo o 'clock, when he was suffering from injuries to the right side of his chest, shock, and a fracture of tho right leg:. An ana?g(hetic was given to set the fracture, and witness also strapped the ribs. The following day he was £till in a state of shock, and it seemed he had internal chest trouble. Dr. "Will, who saw him several times, said nothing could be done. At about 8 o'clock his condition seemed worse to witness, and ho died at 3.20 tho following morning. The cause of death was shock, due to tho fracture and to the internal chest injuries.

To Mr Twyneham: On the night of the 38th. the man's condition was serious, but not- absolutely hopeless. Richard Owen, of 258 Papanui road, clerk, employed by I?. T. Tosswill and Co., described the accident. He said that Johnstone was standing outside the lift, near tho entrance to the office. Witness went to the Board room, and had.just entered when ho heard the lift machinery start. He saw that JohnStone was in the act of boarding the lift, and that it had descended about 18 inches. Both doors wero wide open. Witness rushed to the man's assistance, and by tho time he had covered the intervening space the lift had gone down another two feet. Johnstono's right hand was clutching the outer gate, and his right foot, was on the floor of the passageway. "I bent down to try and push his right leg into the lift," said witness, "but by this tjmc the lift was travelling very quickly, and my action was hampered by tho hold Jolm--Bt-oiio had on tho lift gate. By this time the lift had taken his foot through tho narrow space between the lift and the floor? and Johnstone was suspended in the lift by his right foot. His footwas cnjßhed and freed, and ho then fell heavily into a corner of the lift. The lift, which was travelling at a high rate of speed, went on down." An6ther metriber of the staff had rung up for a doctor. Witness rushed downstairs, and found the lift had stopped almost level with that floor. Johnstone was lifted Out and taken to the hospital. To Sergeant MacNamara: The lift did not always have an attendant, but when it did, it was called to a floor by a buzzer. Just prior to the accident witness heard the buzzer ring. Several times the lift had stopped between floors when witness was using it.

To Mr Bio wit: The samo button waft pr6ssed, whether the lift was working automatically Of not. To Mr Wilding: If tho man had thrown himself on the floor of tho lift or got completely in he W6i)ld'liav6 been Safe. It was a natural impulse to cat eh hold of the door.

George Cleavo Joiicg, of 74 Oxford street, electrician in tho employ of Turnbull ahd Jones, said the lift yr&s installed by his firm. Part of his duties w&6 t the inspection of lifts, and ho had inspected tho ono in Hereford Coukt about once a week since it's iftstalla' tion. Ho had been in the firm's etnploy for nino years, and lie had been inspecting for five and a half or sit years. The lift was inspected on November 12th. It had only required a few miner adjustments, complaints having been made that it stopped a little above or below floors. Deceased made a complaint on November 12th that tlifc ; switches on. tho control board had been j "chatteijng" when the lift passed the third floor. Witness found the lift Was in good mechanical order, but that there ; Was a little dust and oil on the contact points. He cleaned them, and tried the lift to see if it would operate with tho doors open. It would not move. i To Mr Brown: Th 6 dust on the con- ! ttfct points would tend to stop the lift, and not to make it move with the doors open. He tried the lift to see if the locks wero in good order. Mr Johnston asked if the lift was not of lower voltage than' was recommended by the City Council as being '• efficient-. Witness said lie could not answer the question, as ho had to be careful.

llicliMd Turner, 31 Sherbourho street, engineer in tho employ of Turnbull and .Jones, said ho supervised tho installation of the lift. It was handed over by the company about March 20th, and it was then in as good a working order as could bo expected under the circumstances. The vblt»gO did not affect the Safety of it. Oft Novfembei 4 17th, midcf instructions, he went to inspect the lift. An inspection of the. machinery room showed hint that the chnrtgo-over switch was in the automatic position. The Inspector of Machinery and witness inspected the lift together, and found that it would move with the doors Open. Tho cover of the door-lock was taken oflf, but nothing Avas found to be wrong, and when it was put back the lift worked all right again.

To the Coifoner: There must have been a jafu soniewhere to make the lift move with the doors open. To the Sergeant: Minor compiairtta ' received were due to the fact that tho lift was working under conditions for Which it Wa9 hot designed. To Mr Wilding: At 11 o'clock ou the morning of tho accident witness found the lift in good order. To Mr Johnston: Tho low voltage in übo on the lift was the cause of the "chaptering" in the points. Tho jamming in the door-lock had probably boon caused by excessive Blamming and rough usage. To Mr Twvneham: There was no danger if the lift Was entered and left -when it was stationary. *

Ernest Hargrave, Inspector •of Machinery, said that Turner's account of the inspection was correct. In his opinion, the lift was now ill as good a condition as it possibly could be. Tho lift had an additional safety device that most of the lifts did not have.

The Coroner said the lift was evidently -working automatically. The door of tho third floor was open, and Johnstone thought he was safe. JohnBtonc had told his son-in-law that he was standing with one foot in and one foot out of the lift. Suddenly the lift descended, and Johnstone, becoming alarmed, clutched tho side in an attempt to struggle out. Ho was caught ia tlio lift and injured. No one seemed to be to blame for tho accident. The cause of death was shock and injuries sustained by Johnstone through an accident, when engaged in working the lift.