Garage Door Accidents

It is likely that you already know that countless dangers exist for adults and children alike around your home.

Several of the dangers more commonly considered in your home entail pools, ovens, stoves, and of course, fireplaces.

Although there is a feature that is not considered often, but presents an imminent danger frequently, and that is the garage door.

In today’s society, many garage doors are automatic. This can present concerns of safety not only for children, but for adults as well.

Imagine coming home from work or shopping, and you find your 7-year-old son and his friend playing with the garage door, racing to see who can roll under it faster before it closes shut.

That wouldn’t make you feel safe and reassured at all.

Including the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, a number of organizations have worked diligently to reduce risks of injury.

The commission, to make doors of garages safer within our homes, has been bolstering requirements of automatic garage doors so individuals are not as likely to sustain injuries.

Normally, the causes of garage door injuries are being struck by a garage door, and entrapment. 


There are safety standards featured with garage doors, such as manual release handles, automatic reversal systems, and infrared motion detectors. However, a concern of safety ensues when these garage features stop functioning properly after a while.

The surest and easiest way to prevent injuries from automatic garage doors is to ensure monthly the features of safety of the automatic door.

You could, for instance, place an object in the pathway of the garage door so when it does connect with something, you can ensure it immediately goes back up.

In front of the detector, an individual could place an object to test motion detectors.

The manual release, finally, is normally inside the garage. It is a red handle connected to a hanging cord.

The manual release can be utilized to disconnect in an emergency from the door the electronic opener. This can enable one to open the door manually. In the event of a power outage, this is very crucial.

Typically, the family uses an automatic garage door daily three to four times. That equals in a single year to about 1,500 opens and closes.

All that work normally leads to parts corroding. Thus, in addition to monthly testing your automatic garage door, a professional inspection of garage doors should be scheduled annually for maintenance issues.

Every five years or so, parts are usually replaced, and the costs are minimal. Compared to a lawsuit from a houseguest or mounting medical bills, the inspection fees are far less costly.

In the event a houseguest becomes injured because of a defective garage door, which you were aware of already or should’ve been aware of previously, it is likely that someone can hold you responsible in an accident for sustained injuries.

Contact us for a free consultation or call Anzalone Law Firm PLLC, at: 603.548.3797