Dozens of Waikato residents struck by automatic doors
An incident with a shopping mall sliding door, which left an elderly woman battered and broken, may not be as uncommon as first thought, Accident Compensation Corporation figures reveal.
According to figures provided by ACC, $155,063 was paid out for
121 active claims involving automatic doors related injuries in 2020.
Of these, 108 new claims were made to the authority about automatic door-related injuries. A further 10 new claims were lodged involving a garage door.
Of the 108, 13 were from people in Waikato, 7 in the Bay of Plenty,
33 in Auckland, 18 in Wellington and 12 in Canterbury.
The release of ACC figures come after revealed a swell of incidents involving automatic doors at shopping centres around the country.
Most recently, Wendy McLean, 81, was injured by two automatic sliding doors at a Hamilton mall, leaving her with a broken leg and bruised arms.
In Wellington, Daphne Fraser, 89, broke her shoulder when she was knocked to the floor by sliding doors at The Mall and Mary Sarniak-Thomson, 82, is living with an injury caused by automatic doors at Lower Hutt’s Queensgate mall.
Before the incidents, the women were in good health.
Age Concern chief executive Stephanie Clare said despite the recent run of incidents involving elderly people and automatic doors, such events were not common. Nevertheless, she said such incidents needed to be examined in a thoughtful way when they did occur.
People 65 and older had a higher chance of suffering injuries that could severely affect their health following a fall, she said.
Of the total 118 new claims made last year, 73 caused complainants soft tissue injury, 26 caused a laceration, puncture, or sting, 12 caused a fracture or dislocation, and seven had an ‘‘other’’ primary injury diagnosis.
An ACC spokesperson said because there was considerable variability in detail provided by claimants, data should not be interpreted as definitive.
McLean finished a six-week stay at Waikato Hospital after her release one month ago but says she’ll never be the same again. Fully independent before the accident, she now relies on visits from carers and can’t move around without her walker. It’s likely she won’t drive again.
She is now undergoing rehabilitation through ACC but is more reliant on her family for help.
“My independence has gone,” she said from her Tokoroa home.
“I know I won’t ever be the same again ... I was walking perfectly normal before this happened.”