Many people take elevators in residential and office buildings countless times a day without thinking twice, but you should never lose sight of the fact that elevators can be risky environments. Many different things can go wrong that result in some type of injury for those who are riding the elevator. If you ever find yourself in an elevator when something goes awry, it's important to quickly grab your smartphone (if you can) to begin documenting things with photos and videos. This evidence may end up being valuable to share with your personal injury attorney as you bring a case against the building. Here are some examples of valuable elevator evidence to gather.

Video Of You Pressing The "Help" Button

In the case of a stuck elevator, one of the first things that you'll want to do is press the "Help" button. Generally, this puts you in communication with someone in the property manager's office, who can then take action to get help. Unfortunately, this button might not be functional due to poor maintenance, and this can delay the time that it takes to get help — perhaps causing significant emotional upset to you and your fellow elevator users. Be sure to record a video of you pressing the "Help" button repeatedly and no one answering it.

Photos That Show How Long You Were Trapped

Being trapped in an elevator for a long time can result in emotional upset and physical injuries, too. For example, you might get so anxious that you pass out and hit your head on the floor. The longer that you're trapped, the higher the risk of such an injury taking place. To accurately record the length of time that you're trapped, take photos throughout the ordeal. The timestamp will show the length of the incident, which may be effective if the property management's attorney says the incident was only a couple of minutes in length.

Photos/Videos Of Physical Injuries

Depending on the type of physical injury that you suffer in an elevator, do your best to document it at the scene if you're able. Photos of an injury well after the fact can be less than effective, because the defendant's attorney may question when the injury actually occurred. For example, if you were pinched by the elevator's doors, resulting in a serious gash to one of your limbs, taking photos before you leave the scene can be important.

For more information, reach out to a personal injury attorney, such as Franklin L. Jones, Jr.