HEB, an escalator company, is facing a lawsuit after a three-year-old child lost four fingers in an accident

HOUSTON – HEB and TK Elevator Corporation (TKE) are facing a lawsuit from a family after a toddler lost four fingers in an escalator accident at an HEB store in Bellaire.

The lawsuit, filed Oct. 16, sues the grocery chain and the escalator company for negligence, gross negligence and premises liability. The case was handled by civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump.

Court documents in the lawsuit describe the events of March 30. A three-year-old girl was going down the store’s escalator when she lost her balance and sat on the moving steps to catch herself. The lawsuit alleges that the escalator had a “large gap” between the steps and the apron wall and that the child’s right hand became trapped between the moving steps and the stationary wall.

The escalator continued to move as the girl’s parents tried to free her hand and, horrifyingly, the girl’s fingers were removed as her hand was freed from the gap.

The lawsuit accuses the grocery chain and the escalator supplier of failings on multiple fronts, arguing that the escalator was inadequately maintained and that the safety switches on the escalator should have triggered an automatic stop if the child’s hand became trapped.

The lawsuit also alleges that the escalator was put back into operation immediately after the accident before state authorities began an investigation, resulting in the destruction of valuable evidence.

“This tragic incident forever changed the lives of a three-year-old child and his family,” Crump said in a news release on his website. “The defendants failed in their fundamental duty to ensure the safety of customers, and their negligence resulted in a young child losing his fingers in a horrific incident that could have been avoided with proper maintenance. This was completely avoidable.”

Crump’s law firm has worked on several notable civil rights cases, including those of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.