Overhead door drops onto the head of a guy trying to get his car serviced

Overhead door drops onto the head of a guy trying to get his car serviced

While visiting a dealership and waiting for his car to be serviced, a man wandered into the garage service area where cars were being worked on. The door was open at the time he walked in, and as he leaned against the large door frame, the overhead door curtain rapidly descended upon him, hitting him on the back of the neck and knocking him to the ground. There was no audible or visual warning that the door would be descending.

Car service areas at dealerships usually have high speed overhead doors that close off the mechanic’s service areas from the outside elements and the public. These doors rise and fall quickly and they generally operate with opening speeds of between 8 and 10 feet per second. That is considered to be lightning fast when you compare it to the 15 to 45 seconds for regular overhead doors. The high speed overhead doors do not descend as fast as when they go up, but they do come down faster than standard overhead doors.

All overhead doors that operate automatically require sensors to safely function. Underwriters Laboratories has set standards for automated gates and overhead doors that specifically detail required sensor systems based upon installations.

Mike Panish, Automatic Door & Gate Expert Witness, is retained across the country by both plaintiff and defense for personal injury cases involving overhead doors, automatic doors, manual door systems, and gates. Over the years, he has been retained on a number of cases involving car dealerships or similar facilities where high speed doors have descended upon people.

You can read more about Mr. Panish’s expert services and read his article about High Speed Overhead Doors by visiting this link.

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