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Custom Elevator Recalls Residential Elevators Due to Child Entrapment Hazard; Risk of Serious Injury or Death to Young Children; One Death Reported

  • Residential Elevator with Space Between the Exterior Landing (Hoistway) Door and Interior Elevator Car (Accordion) Door. A young child can become entrapped if there is a hazardous gap between the doors.
  • Scenario depicting a child trapped between an exterior landing (hoistway) door and an interior elevator car door due to a hazardous gap. The exterior door locks the young child in the hazardous space between the doors when the elevator is called to another floor, putting the child at risk of being crushed or pinned and suffering serious injuries or death.
Name of Product:
Residential elevators
Hazard:

Young children can become entrapped in the space between the exterior landing (hoistway) door and the interior elevator car door or gate if there is a hazardous gap between the doors and suffer serious injuries or death when the elevator is called to another floor.

Remedy:
Repair
Recall Date:
September 29, 2022
Consumer Contact

Custom Elevator toll-free at 888-443-2800 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, email at spaceguards@customelevatorinc.com or online at https://homeelevator-recall.com/custom-elevator/or www.customelevatorinc.com and click on “Important Recall Notice” for more information and for those specific elevators subject to the recall.

Recall Details

Description:

Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Custom Elevator, of Plumsteadville, Pennsylvania, are announcing this voluntary recall of certain of the 15,200 residential elevators manufactured by Custom Elevator since 2003.  Contact www.customelevator.com or go to https://homeelevator-recall.com/custom-elevator/ for those specific elevators subject to the recall.  Young children can become entrapped in the space between the exterior landing (hoistway) door and the interior elevator car door or gate if there is a hazardous gap and suffer serious injuries or death when the elevator is called to another floor.

In July 2021, a 7-year-old child died in a vacation home in North Carolina after becoming entrapped in a residential elevator. The elevator was manufactured by Custom Elevator and installed and serviced by a third-party installation company.

This recall involves select Custom Elevator residential elevators with either hydraulic drives (HYD) or winding drum drives (WD). The Custom Elevator brand name is located on the controllers and hydraulic power unit. The elevators are used in consumers’ homes.  

Custom Elevators sold the units to elevator contactors nationwide from 2003 through August 2022 for between $10,000 and $25,000, excluding installation costs charged by third party installation companies. 

Consumers should keep young children away from the recalled residential elevators and contact Custom Elevator for free space guards to eliminate any hazardous gaps. Custom Elevator will provide consumers with instructions on how to measure for space guards to correct any hazardous gap. Space guards will be provided free of charge and assistance with space guard installation will be provided upon request.

Contact Custom Elevator toll-free at 888-443-2800 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, email at spaceguards@customelevatorinc.com or online at https://homeelevator-recall.com/custom-elevator/ or www.customelevatorinc.com and click on “Important Recall Notice” at the home page for more information.

The recalled elevators were manufactured in the United States by Custom Elevator. 

 

Remedy:

Consumers should keep young children away from the recalled residential elevators and contact Custom Elevator for instructions on how to measure for space guards to correct any hazardous gap. Space guards will be provided free of charge and assistance with space guard installation will be provided upon request.

Incidents/Injuries:

In July 2021, a 7-year-old child died in a vacation home in North Carolina after becoming entrapped in a residential elevator.

Recall number:
22-235

Note: Individual Commissioners may have statements related to this topic. Please visit www.cpsc.gov/commissioners to search for statements related to this or other topics.

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About the U.S. CPSC

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of injuries associated with consumer products over the past 50 years.

Federal law prohibits any person from selling products subject to a Commission ordered recall or a voluntary recall undertaken in consultation with the CPSC.

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