Owners of Calgary Tower launch lawsuit over elevator malfunctions
Three incidents where patrons were trapped in a Calgary Tower elevator were the result of shoddy maintenance, a $7-million lawsuit claims.
The court action, filed by Palliser Square Properties Ltd. and other commercial leasing businesses, alleges Thyssenkrupp Elevator (Canada) Inc. failed to properly service lifts on their premises.
Those failures resulted in three separate occasions where an elevator at the iconic Calgary Tower broke down, trapping riders inside.
The first incident occurred last July 12, more than five months after a deadline given to Thyssenkrupp by the Alberta Elevating Devices and Amusement Rides Safety Associates (AEDARSA) to replace hoist ropes in one of the tower’s elevators, the claim alleges.
“On or about July 8, 2018, AEDARSA completed an in-service safety inspection of both elevators located at the Calgary Tower,” the statement of claim says.
Following the inspection Thyssenkrupp was given a directive to replace the hoist ropes in Car 1, no later than Jan. 9, 2019, it says.
“On July 12, 2019, a hoist rope in
Car 1 at the Calgary Tower broke, causing the entrapment of eight passengers,” the claim says.
“At the time of the incident Thyssenkrupp had still not replaced the hoist rope in Car 1.”
Because of the incident, Palliser closed the Calgary Tower to the public for about four months while necessary inspections, repairs, maintenance and testing was conducted.
The lawsuit goes on to state there were two further “entrapment” incidents, one on Feb. 11, when nine passengers got stuck on the same elevator, and again on Feb. 16, when five others were trapped.
Multiple other deficiencies were discovered in equipment on that property and others named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, the court document says.
A statement of defence disputing the unproven allegations has not been filed.