- Zoe Garatziotis got her arm stuck in an elevator door in a building
- She had her hand on the door and was pulled into a space when the door opened
- The family is being sued for a wrist injury, but a construction company blames them for the accident.
A five-year-old girl’s arm was sucked into a small gap between an elevator and the wall and remained stuck there for three minutes.
Zoe Garatziotis suffered a gash on her wrist that required 20 stitches, and now has a large and painful scar, and her family has filed a lawsuit.
The little girl was enjoying a day at the pool at the 1450 Washington at Hudson Tea apartment complex in Hoboken, New Jersey, last July and was heading up to the seventh floor.
She had her hand on the elevator door when she arrived and when the door opened, she was pulled in with it, much to the dismay of her mother Loni Garatziotis.
Zoe Garatziotis’ arm was pulled into a small gap between an elevator and the wall and remained stuck there for three minutes.
Security footage showed Loni and her friend Nicole, who were there with Zoe’s twin brother and sister and two other children, struggling to pull her arm away.
They tried hand sanitizer as a makeshift lubricant, but to no avail, and after three minutes, they finally released her after smearing her arm with lotion a neighbor had given them.
Zoe required monthly hospital visits to treat the injury after the family returned to Palm Beach, Florida.
His parents sued Taylor Management Company and Kone Elevators and Escalators for negligence on August 31, both of whom deny liability.
The lawsuit seeks damages and wants the manufacturer of the building and elevator to add warning signs about what happened to Zoe.
Security footage showed Loni and her friend Nicole, who were there with Zoe’s brother, twin sister and two other children, struggling to pull her arm away.
Zoe suffered a gash on her wrist that required 20 stitches, and now has a large and painful scar, and her family has taken legal action.
“If you look at where the door goes, there is a very small gap, it can hold a few pieces of paper, that’s how it should have been, the gap was too big,” said their lawyer Edward Capozzi at ABC 7.
Loni said Zoe was still suffering from her scar nine months later.
“It’s quite rugged, it’s quite big and it’s something we deal with on a daily basis. She wants to cover it up, it doesn’t feel good, it’s sensitive,” she said.
Taylor Management Company denied responsibility and blamed Zoe and her mother for causing the accident.
“Any injuries or damages suffered by plaintiffs were caused by the sole negligence, wrongdoing, or breach of duty or warranty of plaintiffs and/or co-defendants,” he wrote in his response to the complaint.
Zoé with her twin sister and her parents Loni and Theo Garatziotis
The filing claimed Loni was responsible for Zoe at the time and left her unsupervised and unattended.
“The said minor was not attentive and was too young and inexperienced to have good judgment and recognize the risk of injury, thus causing the alleged accident,” he argued.
TMC argued that Loni was therefore “negligent and/or reckless” in supervising Zoe, which was “the direct and proximate cause of the accident and injuries.”
Koné also denied responsibility but made no other accusations.
The case has been submitted to mediation and is currently being heard in court.
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