Documents obtained by NBC 5 DFW show that at least 30 elevator incidents occurred at John Peter Smith Hospital during the past 13 months, including one incident in which a hospital employee was seriously injured.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based hospital made headlines last month after an employee was seriously injured in an elevator incident Jan. 20. The hospital's CEO sent at least two letters to the facility's elevator operator, Thyssenkrupp Elevator Corp., demanding the company address elevator safety concerns at the hospital, NBC 5 reports.
While the hospital didn't release details about the incident at the time, hospital work orders obtained by NBC 5 on Feb. 13 showed the employee was crushed by an elevator between the 10th and 11th floors of hospital's main building.
The television station reviewed work orders between Jan. 2, 2018, and Jan. 30, 2019, and found at least 30 reports of people trapped in elevators. One such order was requested because a physician claimed an elevator had been moving from floor to floor with its doors open, the report states.
In a Feb. 13 emailed statement to NBC 5, Thyssenkrupp said: "First and foremost, our focus remains on the wellbeing and recovery of the injured JPS employee. Elevator entrapments and other service disruptions can occur for a variety of reasons, including building and user issues not related to the upkeep of the equipment itself. But any issue must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and it would be irresponsible for us to comment without reviewing each incident in question. The elevators at JPS Hospital passed inspection within the last year and any issues have been remediated in a timely fashion.
"Unfortunately, JPS has kept us in the dark on the details associated with this incident, despite numerous requests for information. It is highly unusual for a customer to not only withhold this type of important information from its elevator service provider, but to express any partnership concerns through the media before contacting us.
"Moving forward, thyssenkrupp Elevator will continue to conduct itself with the utmost integrity and professionalism, and keep the focus where it belongs — on why this employee was injured and what can be done to ensure this never happens in the future."
To access the full report, click here.