A young woman has been seriously injured after falling 25ft down a lift shaft at a Starbucks coffee shop in Solihull, reports The Daily Telegraph.
The incident occurred when the woman, who has yet to be identified as a customer or a member of staff, went to use the lift, found nothing there and accidentally stepped into the service lift shaft, which is reserved for staff, wheelchair users and customers with children’s pushchairs.
If your business is open to the general public, it is your responsibility to ensure both staff and customer safety at all times. Therefore, your business should consider both employers’ liability insurance and public liability insurance, in addition to the required general business insurance.
A crew of firefighters had to extract the woman from the lift shaft. She was then taken to hospital by the West Midlands Ambulance Service, and was suspected of having a broken leg and pelvis.
A spokesman for the West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "The woman had suffered probable breaks to her pelvis and leg.
"After being immobilised and having splints applied, she was taken by ambulance to the major trauma centre at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham for further assessment and treatment.”
The Starbucks branch has subsequently been closed while investigations into the incident take place. A spokeswoman for the coffee shop chain said: "We are shocked and distressed by this terrible incident, and we're working closely with the authorities as they investigate how this could have happened."
