The Good Wife actor Josh Charles and director David M. Rosenthal were among 14 people who were inside an elevator at the Gramercy Park Hotel in Manhattan when the elevator malfunctioned and departed down with the doors still open.

Rosenthal reported that the elevator was already full when two additional passengers forced their way inside, apparently overloading the elevator and causing it to drop eight stories before the over-speed governor applied the emergency brakes.

No one was injured and the cause of the malfunction has not yet been determined. Hotel officials said the elevator would be thoroughly inspected before being placed back into service.

Read the full story: Actors plummet eight floors in falling hotel elevator after Janie Jones film premiere party – Mail Online

State public-safety officials recently shut down escalators at a department store in Auburn, Massachusetts, after a 4-year-old Dudley, Massachusetts, boy died in another of the same mall’s stores on March 18. The boy reportedly slipped through a gap at a second-floor escalator and fell 18 feet onto a display case. Authorities did not give a specific reason for the shutdown. Inspectors are rechecking 25 escalators across the state in the wake of the accident.

Read the full story: Mass. boy dies after falling from mall escalator – Boston.com

On March 4, a 21 year-old waitress in Oklahoma City fell down the dumbwaiter shaft at the restaurant in which she was working. The victim was taken to the hospital but succumbed to her injuries. Investigators believe the waitress was loading or unloading the dumbwaiter when it suffered a mechanical malfunction, fell to the ground and pulled her with it. A full investigation of the accident is underway. OSHA is also expected to conduct an investigation.

Read the full story: Woman dies in fall down dumbwaiter shaft – UPI.com

An elevator contractor fell six stories to his death down an elevator shaft in Brooklyn, New York, on March 2. The man was reportedly cleaning cables atop an elevator car when he fell from the car into the shaft. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Read the full story: Worker Dies in Fall Down Brooklyn Elevator Shaft – New York Times

On February 1, a 17-month-old boy’s finger was severed as a result of it being caught between the comb and groove of the step tread near the bottom of the escalator he was riding in a Los Angeles courthouse. The boy was hospitalized, but no further details have been released.

Read the full story: Toddler severs finger in freak Van Nuys courthouse escalator accident – NY Injury News

A three-year-old boy was hospitalized after being pinned under an elevator in a Forsyth, Georgia, home in late December 2010. According to the sheriff’s report, the child’s mother was upstairs when she heard the boy playing with the elevator. When she went downstairs, she found the child trapped against the floor under the elevator. A sheriff’s deputy, firefighters and emergency medical officials arrived soon after and were able to free the boy. The three year old was hospitalized in critical condition. Authorities do not yet know if the incident was the result of an elevator malfunction.

Read the full story: Elevator Pins Boy, 3 – Forsyth News

A Boston woman had her foot stuck in an escalator for almost half an hour on December 24, 2010. The incident occurred when the woman, said to be in her mid-20s, was going from an electronic store’s second floor to the first floor when her foot became caught between the escalator’s tread and side plate. Firefighters were on the scene within minutes and had the woman free in 22 minutes. The woman was taken to a hospital as a precaution but did not appear to have serious injuries.

Read the full story: Woman Caught in Escalator in Cambridge – WHDH-TV

June 14, 2006 – Escalator safety expert Kevin Doherty discusses the hidden dangers of escalators and how children may be at the greatest risk (following a brief CBS sponsor message, see Kevin Doherty featured at 2:25).

Read the full story: Danger On The Escalator

March 19, 2010 – Elevator Expert Kevin Doherty appeared on CBS News and discussed safety hazards on several public escalators, as well as one family’s incident showing just how dangerous escalator gaps can be (following a brief CBS sponsor message).

A Fort Lauderdale, Florida, man was injured from a fall down a condominium elevator shaft. According to The Miami Herald, he was trying to prevent a dog from injury when its leash got stuck in the door. He fell three stories down the shaft and was hospitalized with broken bones. The man was in fair condition two days after the accident.