近些年，马萨诸萨州和美国其他地区发生了多起严重电扶梯事故。
　　去年，该州Attleboro市一家超市的电扶梯突然反向运行，导致乘客发生碰撞拥挤，致使5人受伤。
　　2007年，该州的Worcester市青年Kevin Lou在乘坐电扶梯时碾伤右手，2010年，法院判事故电扶梯制造商奥的斯公司连罚款带赔偿共600万美元。
　　2009年，波士顿地铁站一名82岁妇女从电扶梯上跌落至死；2005年，旧金山市34岁的Salvadoran乘坐点扶梯时，身上的毛衣卷入电扶梯中，最后被毛衣勒死。
　　美国消费品委员会估计，2007年一年就有11000起电扶梯致伤事故，是近年来事故最多的一年。事故主要是跌落导致的，其中10成的事故因乘客手、脚和鞋卡入电扶梯中而致。
　　77%的电扶梯事故损伤是挤压而致的损伤，，其中有2成事故还与一款“鳄鱼”牌的鞋有关，“美国消费者报道”称日本贸易部已要求美国科罗拉多州“鳄鱼”牌鞋的制造商改进其设计，之前有65起电扶梯事故与这款“鳄鱼”牌的鞋相关。
　　“美国消费者报道”警告鳄鱼公司：“我们很重视电扶梯的安全问题，导致电扶梯事故的因素除了扶梯本身的原因，乘客乘梯时不系鞋带、穿不适合的鞋类也同样是诱因。”
　　电梯工业称，每年有900亿人次乘坐电扶梯，电扶梯事故发生的风险十分微小。
　　美国“电梯安全基金会”20年来每年都会给小学生普及电梯安全知识，机构同样会帮助老年人提高安全意识。
　　基金会主席Robert G. Merlo Jr.说：“如果按要求乘坐，电扶梯就很安全，否则就可能遇到危险。”
　　电扶梯安全乘坐要领包括：上下梯时要小心，不要带手杖和轮椅上梯，乘坐时扶好扶手，带小孩时拉好孩子的手，不要碰扶手下的墙壁，乘坐时身体要站直，尽量不穿软质的塑料鞋。
　　弗吉尼亚州安全顾问Kenneth R. Martin称，现在许多商店的电扶梯都为乘客提供良好的视野，使他们乘坐时可以浏览其他商品，这很容易让他们忽略自己的孩子，这其实是一个安全隐患。”
　　他说：“乘电梯时的一些人为因素是导致事故的潜在机会。小孩即便在家长的看护下，也不容易遵守规则。”
　　波士顿律师Jeffrey S. Raphaelson说：“根据马萨诸萨州法律，迅达公司应当为男孩致死事故负责任。电梯安装也是制造商份内的事。”
　　Raphaelson认为发生事故的商店所有者Sears零售商也有责任。

USA escalater death——Do you take escalator safely?

　　The Auburn escalator accident was not the first serious mishap or legal development involving escalators in Massachusetts in recent years.
　　Last year, five people were hurt, with some requiring hospital treatment, in a mini-stampede at a North Attleboro mall when a crowd rushed down an escalator that started moving in reverse.
　　Also in 2010, a state appeals court upheld a 2007 Worcester Superior Court judgment against Otis Elevator Co. that awarded $2.85 million to a Worcester teenager, Kevin Lou, for a 1988 escalator accident in China that mangled Mr. Lou's right hand. The appeals court added penalties and interest that brought the total award to more than $6 million. Otis, a U.S. firm, manufactured the escalator in China.
　　In 2009, an 82-year-old woman died in a fall on an escalator at a Boston subway station. And in 2005, a 34-year-old Salvadoran, Francisco Portillo, was strangled when his sweatshirt hood became entangled in an escalator at a Cambridge subway station.
　　The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that there were about 11,000 escalator injuries that required emergency room treatment in 2007, the most recent year for which figures are available.
　　The majority of the injuries were from falls, and about 10 percent occurred when hands, feet or shoes were trapped in escalators.
　　Of 77 entrapment injuries the commission said it was aware of between 2006 and 2008, all but two involved popular soft-sided, “Croc”-style clogs and slides. ConsumerReports.org has reported that the Japanese Trade Ministry asked the Colorado-based maker of Croc footwear to change the design of its shoes after the agency received 65 complaints of escalator accidents involving Crocs and similar shoes during a six-month period in 2007.
　　ConsumerReports quoted a Crocs spokeswoman as saying: “Escalator safety is an issue we take very seriously. Safety experts say several factors can contribute to escalator accidents, including escalator design and maintenance, loose clothing or untied shoelaces, footwear and improper use.”
　　Industry representatives say that with an estimated 90 billion escalator rides each year, the actual risk of escalators is tiny.
　　Even so, the industry-funded Elevator and Escalator Safety Foundation, based in Mobile, Ala., runs safety programs for elementary school-age children, which have reached seven million children over the last 20 years, according to the group. The foundation also does safety outreach to the elderly.
　　“When you follow the rules, escalators are very safe. If you don't, they can be quite dangerous,” said Robert G. Merlo Jr., chairman of the foundation. “Escalators are built to strict standards and codes. But it comes down to riding them safely and following guidelines.”
　　Among common safety guidelines are: step on and off carefully; people only — no canes, walkers or wheeled vehicles; hold the handrail; hold children or small packages firmly with one hand; do not touch the sides below the handrail; stand facing forward and in the middle of the step.
　　But safety advocates say soft plastic shoes are not the only hazard on escalators.
　　Kenneth R. Martin, a Virginia-based safety consultant, said the inherent design of most popular department store escalators — with open sides allowing customers to scan various departments as they rise through floors of merchandise — can result in parents momentarily losing track of young children, despite prominent safety warnings.
　　“When you use an escalator properly, it's a safe mode of movement, but when you put in the human factor you have countless opportunities for disaster,” Mr. Martin said. “Children, despite the best efforts of their parents, don't always obey safety rules.”
　　“It's a tragedy,” said Jeffrey S. Raphaelson, a lawyer in the Worcester-Boston firm Raphaelson & Raphaelson who represented the Worcester teenager whose hand was severely damaged in the Chinese escalator accident.
　　Mr. Raphaelson said that if there is a lawsuit, blame for the accident could be spread around, but the manufacturer would likely ultimately be held responsible.
　　“Under Massachusetts law, Schindler, the manufacturer, is strictly liable for all manufacturing defects in the escalator. Installation of an escalator is part of manufacture, so if the escalator was defectively installed in 2009 without the proper barricade, then Schindler may be held responsible for the defect,” Mr. Raphaelson said.
　　However, Mr. Raphaelson also noted that the property owner, which in this case is Simon Properties, operator of the mall, as well as Sears, may also share liability.