By Gus Saltonstall
This weekend was supposed to be joyous for Upper West Sider Mary Willis.
Her daughter is getting married on Saturday.
Willis won’t be at the wedding, though. She’ll be in a hospital bed at Mount Sinai West.
Willis, 80, broke her hip and pelvis after multiple people fell down the escalator and landed on top of her on Tuesday at the Trader Joe’s on West 72nd Street and Broadway. She needed immediate surgery.
“I’ve never had that kind of pain in my life,” Willis told the Rag, in a phone call from her hospital room on Friday. “It was just excruciating.”
Here’s our conversation with Willis, who explained more about how her injuries occurred.
WSR: Can you describe what happened from your perspective?
Willis: I had finished shopping. I had a previous injury, so I was wearing a boot because I had hurt my foot. So, out of caution, I asked one of the employees to take my groceries up to the exit. A guy who was the highest up on the escalator in front of me looked to be in his 80s. And then, this other man, who was more hefty, was minding his business and going up the escalator, around four steps behind him. And then, I stepped on to the escalator and began to rise.
WSR: What happened next?
Willis: So, the guy near the top of the escalator loses his balance and starts falling back down the escalator. On his way down, he hit the other man, which caused him also to fall backward, and they both careened into me and were crushing me.
I was screaming, ‘Get them off, get them off.’ I knew immediately that they had landed on my hip and that it was really serious. They knocked me to the bottom of the escalator. The guy at the front was probably four or five steps from the top. I have all of these track marks on my leg and my left side from the escalator because it didn’t go off immediately, so they kept getting pushed onto me.”
WSR: What was the reaction from inside of the store?
Willis: One of the employees stood behind me and kept asking if I wanted help up, but I told him no, ‘don’t touch me, I know I can’t move.’ I have never had that kind of pain in my life.
WSR: And, could you tell why the man fell?
Willis: I have no idea. I just knew that suddenly I saw a guy falling from the top of the escalator, like the famous falling scene from the ‘Mad Men’ credits. Everything happened in a matter of seconds. I do know the escalator didn’t stop.
WSR: Then you were taken to the hospital?
Willis: Because the customer elevator wasn’t working, it took the EMS guys — who everybody said came quickly, but they didn’t come quickly for me– a good 40 minutes before they figured out how to get me out. I was screaming. They ended up getting me into a produce freight elevator that customer don’t use out onto 72nd Street.
My injuries are really severe. I had to be operated on. I had a totally crushed pelvis, as well as the broken hip bone. I have abrasions on my arms and legs.
WSR: What does the recovery timeline look like?
Willis: I’m in for a really rough period. I was in surgery, now post surgery I can’t walk yet. I’ll be at the hospital for another full week and then I have to go into intensive PT. I’m praying. I’m a strong, active woman. This is really, really terrible.”
WSR: Your daughter’s wedding is this weekend?
Willis: On Saturday. I can’t go. I’m really crippled. It’s such a hard choice. I was really thinking the wedding is more important, but then I thought it would be too hard. I can barely walk. She understands. Everybody knows it’s terrible.”
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That’s one account. I’d like to hear another. Rashomon.
You are someone I would not like to have as a neighbor.
Wonderful comment. Delightful to read this one first. Brimming with kindness and empathy.
In Dino We Trust (a horrible comment)
A truly horrific experience during regular shopping.
My sincere condolences to the victims of this accident.
Might I add that I don’t think TJ escalators are poorly equipped for taking personal carts on them.
Deep pockets Trader Joe’s has.
I knew someone would go here. What do you think happened? She pulled the 2 others down on top of her, to break her hip and need surgery? Seriously?
For the record, food retailers have generally pretty low margins – and they also maintain insurance for exactly these types of scenarios.
Insurance?What good does it do for the poor victims?? Money can’t make up for a broken hip!!!
I would love for an attorney to opine on this. Obviously there are a lot of details missing (though this is a very thorough interview – thanks to Ms. Willis and WSR!) Is this something Trader Joe’s can be held liable for, if someone just randomly loses their balance and falls down an escalator. If they can prove it was running normally and this person just happened to fall down, I’m not sure if it is their fault. But I don’t know.
I truly hope that she is somehow at least partially compensated for her pain and suffering. Further explanation of how this works would be greatly appreciated, again acknowledging that we don’t have all the details.
Yes. Stores have extremely high level of exposure.
There is a lot we don’t know. Was there some defect in the escalator that could have caused the initial fall? Was she holding the rail? She is very focused on the escalator not stopping, but I think that is how it is meant to work because otherwise it could jolt others to fall. We don’t know how long it was on after they all fell, so maybe her injuries were made more severe. That said, they have a history (as we all know) of broken elevators and escalators, and somehow they renovated for four months and they aren’t fixed. The could implead the manufacturers, installers, maintenance companies. She’s a sympathetic plaintiff and the courts are pro-plaintiff, so a lawyer will probably get a settlement.
Feel terrible for this poor woman. But doesn’t sound like TJ’s is at fault.
the part about not helping EMS get to her sooner is their fault
What do you mean? There’s no such part. TJ doesn’t dispatch EMS vehicles.
!!!
There could also be an issue on how TJ employees handled the accident possibly resulting in worsening her injuries
TJ’s employees are not EMTs. Hopefully all they did was turn off the escalator and call 9-1-1.
One of their customers fell down one of their escalators inside one of their stores and broke her hip. They will be making a big payout for this.
Why? If I walk into Macys, trip over my own feet and break my wrist when I fall, why is Macys liable?
Bc that’s how US law works.
Read the story. She was injured in Trader Joe’s through no fault of her own. That’s all you need to know.
No, that’s not all you need to know. Is Trader Joe’s strictly liable for anything that happens in their store, absence any misconduct or negligence on their part? They shouldn’t be, though in this litigious society, their insurance company will probably pay. Who SHOULD be liable, if anyone is liable at all? The elderly man who fell. Obviously a very unpopular answer, but he was the proximate cause of the incident, unless there is information we don’t have. (And yes, I’m a lawyer.)
Also through no fault of Trader Joe’s.
We’re back to the TraderJoe’s escalator again?
Are we obsessed with this?
Did you even READ the article? It’s not really about the escalator, per se.
True. It’s about gravity and physics, Per se.
Boo
I’m sorry for this woman’s trauma. I understand the pain because I broke my femur and it was the most excruciating pain! It is unimaginable! I hope she has a good lawyer and if not she should get one right away. Mt. Sinai is a trauma center so I’m glad she was taken there. I wish her the very best.
It was Mount Sinai West not actual Mount Sinai
I hope she has a good orthopedic surgeon and a good physical therapist. And she doesn’t waste her time, energy, and money suing Trader Joe’s. Your priorities are weird.
Why would she need a good lawyer? Is it that important to you that a lawyer goes after someone? It sounds like the only one at fault was the person who fell down. Is that whom you want retribution from?
No, it doesn’t sound as though the “only one at fault was the person who fell down,” and we don’t even know if he was at fault. The point is we don’t know many details: does the elevator have a stop button, and was it working? Why wasn’t the customer service elevator working, because if it had been Ms. Willis may have avoided such severe injuries, or at least avoided exacerbating them, as time is of the essence here? Did the older man at the top suffer some kind of attack or was he holding on to the rail, as he should have been? Did Trader Joe’s do everything it could do prevent such a terrible accident, and did they come to Ms. Willis’ aid in an effective manner? Why are you so against a lawyer seeking compensation for an elderly victim? She should be compensated if Trader Joe’s is negligent here, if they opened the store prematurely, if they didn’t have a certificate of completion for their renovations. Why would you want to castigate @Molly for posting a perfectly reasonable comment? After all, our legal system, as all legal systems have been since biblical times, is set up to right wrongs, to make victims whole. According to your logic, Ms. Willis should be victimized twice.
Boris, why do you care? She certainly needs an attorney, like it or not.
Mt Sinai Morningside is a trauma center. Sounds like she’s at Mt Sinai West, the old Roosevelt Hospital.
And it is a terrible place never go to Mount Sinai Morningside if you want good care
Mount Sinai West is the worst…unless you have a police escort, which is pretty much all you see in the emergency room. From experience…
Eric – That is absolutely untrue and defamatory. Our entire family has been patients at Mount Sinai West for years where we have always received excellent care including in the ER.
I was brought to the ER at Mt. Sinai after an accident at Staples by ambulance and was terrified, based on what I knew abou Mt. Sinai. To my relief and astonishment, the care I received was immediate and thorough and the staff was wonderful, as were all the interns. I was lucky. But sometimes reputations are not reliable. I remain grateful and I was sent home in a Lyft within two hours.
You were telling us nothing. There are many many hospitals called Mount Sinai.
this is not the escalator’s fault! But headlines are much more sensational, blaming Trader Joe’s
Other customers witnessed, the whole thing saw the incident and described it as the domino effect of someone from the top who fell back losing their balance is getting off the escalator.
Someone at the top of an escalator falls, and the domino effect causes people to fall on top of this woman. I don’t know what that has to do with Trader Joe being at fault. The man at the top of the escalator fell backward.
I wish everybody a very speedy recovery. It sounds like a terrifying situation.
You are probably right, but the possibility that something went awry with the always broken escalator leaves an opening for an attorney. People get settlements for falls that they faked every day. This woman suffered a terrifying actual fall with a severe injury. Our tort system is not really about who is at fault. It’s about how much defendants (rather, their insurance companies) are willing to pay to make it go away.
What a horrible experience. I’m sorry you went through that even if it was just bad luck!
What makes this situation even worse is that seniors and people with disabilities were forced to take the escalator since the elevator was also out of order. It also probably impeded the time it took her to get to the hospital. There is a large senior community in this neighborhood and rather than fix the elevator and escalator it might be a good idea to move to a one floor space like the old Food Emporium on Broadway. This renovation has turned into a disaster. I came in at the tail end of your accident and you were very brave. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Maybe you can watch your daughter’s wedding on your cell phone.
You are assuming that people would have taken the elevator. That’s not a given. Mary even referred to herself as a strong active woman, so it is likely that the elevator bring out of order was irrelevant to her choice to take the escalator and the accident, though it sounds like it could have delayed getting her to the hospital.
The main culprit is gravity.
Hope it has lots of insurance.
The old Duane Reade space at 70th and Bway has been vacant a very long time.
a. It is not nearly as big. b. It is also two stories, with an elevator that was often out of service.
NYC needs a reckoning in general when it comes to accessibility. The city needs to actually ask its disabled and elderly communities (and these are two separate groups, it must be stressed; you can be disabled without being elderly, and elderly without being disabled but still needing reasonable accommodations) what changes should be made an actually follow through. There’s no excuse for a multi-story grocery store not to have a working elevator at minimum.
The change needed is simple, but challenging to execute: keep the elevators and escalators running. I walk with a cane, so avoid the subway as much as practical because no matter how much foot traffic I allow to pass, I always seem to be impeding someone. A recent trip to JFK via the LIRR found both the escalator and elevator out of order. Everyone was having “fun” trying to lug suitcases up a long flight of stairs!
There is a growing shortage of technicians to fix these devices. There is a real opportunity to train high school students for a career in elevator and escalator repair – the pay is great and you don’t need to incur a mountain of debt to obtain the training.
No one was forced to take the escalator. Anyone who was unsafe or just uncomfortable taking the escalator could have chosen to shop elsewhere or to have their groceries delivered. I was recently recovering from a knee injury and I used the elevator at Fairway rather than the stairs. If the elevator happened to be out of service one day, I’d just pass on whatever I planned on buying upstairs for that day. That’s just common sense.
Fairway has a service elevator that I’ve used when regular lifts are broken…many times
YES
Trader Joes does not deliver.
You are missing the very accurate point. It is no one’s God-given right to shop at Trader Joe’s. As much as people like to complain, there are many other options nearby, including delivery (from Fresh Direct and others).
If you don’t feel safe on the escalator, don’t go there. Personally, I think the escalator is a great solution for many people who aren’t super mobile but do not have a device like a walker, stroller, or whatever else – it is a lot better than stairs. Would you rather they have the elevator running when it is not 100% safe? I would rather they err on the side of caution and shut it down. Do you expect them to close the store during this time – elevator repair people don’t just magically appear when you snap your fingers.
What happened seems to be a really, really freak accident. I truly feel horrible for this woman. But the amount of jumping to conclusions here is ridiculous.
Or maybe allow those who need it to use the freight elevator
Trader Joe’s escalator is NOT the problem. Its the “hefty man” that lost his balanc and fell backwards. So “compensation” for pain and suffering should be addressed to the hefty man. It was an unfortunate accident. So knock it off with the lawyer nonsense.
Trader Joes is responsible for the delay in getting EMS to the injured.
How do you know he was “hefty”? Were you there?
Trader Joes is responsible for not having a working elevator. They closed the store for four months to fix it, and didn’t. An eighty year old woman in walking boot should not be riding an escalator. Perhaps she should have passed on shoppping that day, but Trader Joes did not warn her, in fact they facilitated her escalator ride by having an employee carry up her groceries. They were obviously more interested in her revenue than her safety.
Just what should Trader Joe’s have warned her about? That an 80 year old woman in a walking boot should not be riding an escalator? That people sometimes fall and injure others behind them on escalators? This was her CHOICE to take the escalator. The alternative would have been to wait and come another day, when the elevator was in operation. If an elevator or escalator is not working, and an elderly person takes the stairs, and suffers a heart attack, should TJ’s be liable for their poor judgment? Sometimes unfortunate, or even BAD things just happen. The idea that someone has to be liable is a modern conceit.
Clearly west side shopper thinks that anyone over 65 should be banned from escalators and stairs – lol
The hefty man wasn’t the first to fall, it was someone above him who started the domino effect.
No. An elderly man lost his balance and fell backwards onto the hefty man, who was himself knocked over. From what I recall from the previous reporting, the elderly man was uninjured and walked out of the store, sort of like a hit-and-run driver.
80 years old — no joke for a broken hip. Keep yourself as active as you can in any way possible. Squeeze your muscles — do some breathing exercises — have someone massage you wherever it’s possible on your body — look into herbs and such to keep your lymph flowing. What a drag to have to go through recovery with the change of seasons. Try to laugh a lot…..
I never thought of this risk of taking an escalator. Someone falling at the top towards others is something that I’ve never witnessed. I take escalators so often, including Whole Foods, Target and the subway.
I was once taken out, fortunately on a very short escalator, by some idiot with a suitcase too big for him to manage. I could see he didn’t have it together and positioned myself on the opposite side of the escalator just in case, but big guy, big suitcase, I didn’t stand a chance. (This was in Boston, at a station with a working elevator.)
Wishing Mary a full and speedy recovery.
Big business is evil, Trader Joes should leave NYC.
So where do you want to shop, the bodega?
It’s not their fault.
Aren’t we overreacting just a bit?
OPOD is trolling as usual.
I’m a so sorry to hear this happened to her. Having had 2 hip surgeries, I have a good idea what she is going through, although my injuries were not as severe & I was much younger when I had them. She definitely has a lawsuit.
I’m astonished at how many people are wishing a lawsuit on this woman, rather than wishing her to have successful surgery, good doctors, good physical therapists, and a quick and full recovery. That’s far more important than suing someone.
Simple…cameras will tell. I distinctly read in an earlier article it was her boot that caused it. She also sounds like a wonderful sweet lady with nothing but song and sunshine surrounding her.
Which article was that? She was crushed by two falling men and she caused nothing.
Trader Mary Willis’s will be the new name
What does Gale Brewer say about this?
She’s too busy kvetching about the (now cancelled due to weather) Global Citizen Festival. Maybe if they had performers she liked, she would enjoy it. She complained about the trucks taking up parking spaces and closing streets, but the marathon and the Thanksgiving parade are no problem? Perhaps she’s past her “use before” date…
Wishing Mary Willis a full recovery and congratulations on your daughters wedding. a wedding is one day, and you can celebrate with them many times to come.
That is absolutely horrible. I wish her the speediest recovery possible and hope her pain subsides asap.
Mary, I’m so sorry you’re missing your daughter’s wedding. I hope you’re out of pain, that you recover quickly and that you get back to Paris soon.
I feel for U..a year and almost a half ago a guy running pushed me down as I was about to cross 97th st. Broke my hip and had emergency surgery. In rehab for a month as mt.sinai wedt.Did a fabulous job. Spent nearly 8 months on a walker .then cane.Now walk without.Been in pt on and off since then. I can now walk but still does not feel as left hip but am thankful.Wish u the best recovery.So sorry.
Did “the guy” hang around after knocking you down?
horrror story
Not TJ’s fault. If someone can’t clear the top, for whatever reason on any escalator, those who follow get caught in a traffic jam which ca be catastrophic. I got caught in a TJ jam when a fool with shopping cart, not permitted, could not get off. Luckily I could leap over the heap.
Why the fool? I saw a very confused older lady trying to put TJ shopping cart on a regular escalator. She was intercepted by the staff at the last minute.
What if the person you’re calling “a fool” had dementia? It isn’t fair to automatically assume that someone who makes such a mistake is a “fool”.
That was my point. The OP called someone pushing the cart the wrong way a fool.
Some of the comments here about this poor woman’s trauma reveal a cruel, un-empathetic and profoundly unkind and stupid cadre of readers. Wow!
The first time i went into that store i saw a woman fall head forward on the escalator. Ive gone there once since
I went there once. It’s just an awful place for a store like this. No amount of their “curated” offerings would get me back there.
This is a terrible situation and I hope that this woman heals as quickly as possible and gets back to the shape she wants to be in. I often worry when I’m on an escalator due to the fact that people don’t take it seriously as a dangerous machine. It is a dangerous machine, and you shouldn’t walk or run on it. It would just meant for you to stand there and then the escalator gets you to where you want to go, up or down. You also shouldn’t be looking at your phone, and you definitely shouldn’t be looking at your phone and walking at the same time on the escalator. Anyone could lose their balance when riding on an escalator for any reason, even if they are holding on and standing still. We should all familiarize ourselves with where the STOP button is at the top and bottom so that if we see something like this, we can stop the escalator from moving.
Empathy seems in short supply for some posting here.
So do brains amongst those who seem intent on blaming Trader Joe’s. One can be realistic about Trader Joe’s not being at fault and also feel empathy for Mary – they are not mutually exclusive.
The craziness of some of these posts are why the rest of the country thinks we are ignorant know-it-alls and hate us. I don’t agree with them on many things but on this topic they are not wrong – those who scream the loudest here make us look bad.
Speedy recovery to all involved.
That don’t like the escalator defective, the same could have happened if someone fell in the top of a regular stairwalk.
While Ms. Willis would have been better off taking the elevator, she couldn’t. After four months of Trader Joes repairs, the elevator was still out of order on Tuesday (when I was in the store). Apparently that’s why she had someone take up her grpceries and why she was on an escalator, even with her walking boot.
The big unanswered question is: what caused the guy at the top to start falling backwards in the fIrst place? If it was simply his age and a bad misstep, then TJ is not at fault. However, if something happened to or on the escalator itself that caused him to lose his balance, then TJ is absolutely on the hook for this incident.
THAT’s the information I would like to know. Because it seems awfully coincidental that less than one week after re-opening, the store has already had customer injuries on their new escalator.
I don’t understand why it is everyone’s business what Mary should or shouldn’t do regarding litigation.
New Yorkers (and many other people!)are opinionated, and free to express themselves, even if others find it annoying . Would you have it any other way?
Despite traumatic, painful incident, nice (albeit unexpected) homage to ‘Mad Men.’
Wow, what a horror. It sounds like there was nothing wrong with the escalator but that the elderly gentlemen just lost his balance or footing or whatever. She was just unfortunately in the way of two men falling down metal stairs and crushing her. Maybe 80 year olds should not be allowed to ride escalators? In FL where my dad lives there is a Publix that is on the 2nd floor, above the parking garage. They opted not to have escalators but elevators for everyone, old and young to access the supermarket. At first I thought that was weird but after reading this story, I wondering if that’s the way to go….
Every word in this article becomes part of the record and is fodder for cross examining you in a lawsuit.
Something similar happened to me. Be grateful it was a new escalator bc the dirt/grime in the teeth of an older escalator adds a whole new level to your injuries.
The ER Dr had asked me if I was mauled by a wild animal.
Glad your going to be fine
This is so horrible. Sending best wishes to her.
Big take a way here — I don’t want to be on Jury duty with any of you. (Or a long cruise).
Jeeze
This is my 9/11
No one should assume that this will be an easy case for her to win. Some years ago I served on a jury for a case in which an employee was injured in a hotel elevator. He was on a stepladder changing a light bulb while the elevator was moving and lost his balance. The hotel’s defense attorney convinced us that the elevator was operating normally, and so the verdict was unanimous: not liable.
There’s an extremely high duty of care for customers higher than for employees
20/20 hindsight of course, but Ms. Willis asking for help with her grocery bag (s?), in a boot, is then going to walk home? I’m much younger, but when I was in a boot, I was given a cane & shown how to use it. My gait was slow and careful. I can see how Ms. Willis would have benefitted from using a walker. Obviously not In TJs w/ no elevator. Wishing her good recovery & just wondering what was her previous accident that landed her in the boot?
Hi, as I wrote above, Ms. Willis is in great shape and very active. She travels and hikes extensively. You asked about the boot, and why she didn’t use a cane or a walker. Here’s why.
While swimming in a quiet cove some years ago she was run over by a a powerboat which severely damaged her leg. (Yes, she has had some bad luck!) She worked hard at PT and made a great recovery, but has an occasional “drop foot”as a result of nerve damage. I’ve never noticed it, but she said at times it bothers her. (But not enough to keep her from walking everywhere and taking long hiking trips.)
However, it literally tripped her up late this summer and she injured her foot, thus the boot.
She did not need a walker or a cane, and walking home to 79th would not be a big deal for her, boot or no boot.
This was a freak accident and I’m so sorry for her.
I know Ms. Willis very well! I haven’t spoken to her yet because I’m traveling and just now read about this accident. First, my heart breaks for her missing her daughter’s wedding. She was SO looking forward to it.
Second. She is a very very young 80 year old and in great shape. A year or two ago she hiked a mountainous trail in Japan for 7 days. This summer she took her teenaged granddaughter to Paris as a birthday present and they walked and biked all over the city. She does not wear a boot of use a walker.
Third. She is a long distance swimmer and was run over several years ago by a powerboat while swimming in an enclosed bay where power boats are rare. (the driver was elderly and didn’t see her, even though she frantically waved her arms.) Her leg was severely damaged and there was some question as to whether she’d walk again. She did, thanks to an intense PT regime. But, she occasionally suffers a “drop foot” from that injury, nothing anyone can see, but enough to trip her up, as it did when she returned to NYC from Paris. She was in a boot,as a result of that minor accident. Normally, she strides all over the city like the UWS native she is.
I hope you got permission from Ms. Willis to release her medical history to the internet (A.I. scrapers).
The entire store is poorly designed, and always overcrowded. Besides, it’s probably a scam that their food is more healthy than that in a regular supermarket.
Get well soon.
So it wasn’t the escalator didn’t malfunction. Sorry for everyone involved but this wasn’t TJs direct fault.
This woman sounds amazing! What a great perspective to have at this point, with such a long road ahead (topped off by the issue of her daughter’s wedding). I loved her Mad Men reference — that’s one of the most “Upper West Side” comments you could expect to hear.
Warm get well wishes for Mary Willis following her horrible injuries.
So sorry for her suffering. Hip replacements are not horrible but what happened to her was obviously worse. Find a p.t. that you like, if you have a choice and plan to use their help and what they teach you for the rest of your life. I stopped using escalators after reading about a death from clothing entrapment in the past year. I’m safer walking slowly up stairs and always holding on to a handrail, carrying pkgs in a backpack, then washing hands asap.
Re previous reporting linked to here, That they considered a broken hip and crushed pelvis minor is insane.