Designers created garage doors to provide both convenience and protection, allowing people to park their cars in a location that is easily accessible, yet safe and secure. However, due to their sheer size and weight, garage doors can also pose a significant safety hazard.
Consider this: in the average American household, the garage door is one of the heaviest moving parts, weighing anywhere from 300 to 600 pounds. This heavy metal sheet is raised several times a day onto two metal rails, reaching a height of about 10 feet to allow entry, and then lowered back onto those same rails to seal the entrance. A single device, mounted on the garage roof, powers all this movement, operating via remote control. If any of these components were to fail or malfunction, several hundred pounds of metal could come crashing down on anyone or anything beneath it at that moment.
So, what actions can you take to protect your family from garage door-related accidents? To begin with, everyone should develop safe habits. Never walk or stand under a moving garage door. Avoid playing with the garage door opener, and don’t tinker with, deform, or damage any part of the door mechanism.
Federal law mandates that garage doors manufactured after 1993 must have a safety feature that automatically reverses the door’s movement if it hits an object while closing. While this feature is helpful, it should not be relied upon as the sole line of defense. Additionally, be sure to test the functionality of this safety feature regularly to ensure it is working properly.
If a faulty garage door has injured you or someone in your family, you may have a claim against the responsible party. Contact Habush Habush & Rottier—our attorneys are here to help.