An Idaho mother got a shock when she received a bill for $1,100 after she and her children were stuck in an elevator for over an hour.
On July 4, Karen Bryan took her three children to visit a friend at an apartment building in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. When they were leaving the apartment in the elevator, she and her kids jumped. Bryan said she thought that getting a weightless feeling from jumping in a descending elevator would be fun for her and her kids.
Instead, the elevator stopped. The family called for help, and an elevator technician came over an hour later to free them from the stuck elevator.
The elevator company sent a bill for $1,100 in repairs to the building’s administration. The administration forwarded the bill to Bryan’s friend, who paid it. Bryan plans to repay her friend if she is unable to resolve the situation and get the charges dropped. She believes a sign should have been posted warning passengers that jumping in an elevator could cause it to stall. Most elevators do not have signs warning people not to jump. She is considering taking legal action.
Many buildings use cable-traction elevators. If a passenger jumps, the cables can stretch and slacken with the bouncing. There are safeties built into the elevator system to sense if the cables go slack. If these safeties are triggered, they will shut down the elevator and require a manual reset by an elevator mechanic.
