JFK Escalator Injury Blamed on Little Girl's Crocs

"The skin was peeled off her toe; it's a pretty horrifying injury,” says the lawyer representing the family of a 3-year-old girl in a $7 million lawsuit against the Colorado-based footwear company Crocs. The girl, Emma Hochberg of Westchester, was wearing pink clogs when she got caught in an escalator at JFK Airport, chewing up her big toe and causing “severe and permanent” injuries.

There have been similar incidents of children getting stuck in escalators throughout the country while wearing Crocs, but as of yet the company refuses to put warning labels on its popular plastic footwear. Last year the Japanese government issued a warning to Crocs wearers after the escalator incident total passed 40. Crocs are made of a "closed-cell resin that expands and contracts to mold to the wearer's foot" but it's the soft rubber sole that gets caught in elevator treads.

A Crocs spokesman says “escalator safety is an issue we take very seriously, and we are looking into this report.” Mothers now rushing to dispose of their children’s Crocs may want to consider donating them to the company’s SolesUnited initiative, which turns the old clogs into new ones and distributes them to the needy around the world, hopefully in less advanced countries where they still climb stairs.

But listen up kids, Crocs aren’t the only things that make the bloodthirsty escalator monsters drool. Baggy pants caused a human avalanche on the long escalator to the Lincoln Square IMAX in 2005, the same year a young girl’s finger was sliced off when she tripped on a Macy’s escalator; it happened again at Macy’s in 2006 when a boy severed part of his thumb on an escalator. We’re now taking bets on when Bloomberg will swoop down to save us with a ban on these menacing escalators.

Photo of a 4-year-old Toronto boy's foot after a Crocs-related escalator incident.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on February 7, 2008 3:11 PM

Comments [rss]

petebfd

escalators are for lazy fat-fats.

spoon

Kids fall all the time, get them some proper sneakers and stop with this 7 miilion crap. What losers.

cucarachita

I'd be glad to see escalators banned! Let people walk or take elevators.

The Louvre in Paris, once they got all those escalators, is nothing but an escalator park! One big escalator. That's all I remember now. Before, one really got to know the place.

Anyway, people don't know how to raise their kids anymore -- they barely know how to sit down on a subway, much less navigate their way around airports and shopping malls.

Maybe kids should be pushed around in strollers till they're 12. That would solve everyone's problems! Right?

halik007

God's punishment for wearing that white trash crap... i'm surprised they don't sell 'em bundled with pink flamingos

ugh

pfffft sue whoever bought the shoes for the kid!! And while you're at it, sue the person who was NOT HOLDING ON to the child when they were on the escalator. I seem to remember seeing a sign that says "Hold small children by the hand" ......

or is that only in bars???

Sommelier

Oh, fer cryin' out loud! Some yuppie f_cks are too dumb, lazy & self-centered to teach their kid how to handle moving stairs and they want to sue somebody? They should be taken out back & shot for being such negligent excuses for parents. Instead of paying attention to their child on the escalator, they were most likely gabbing on their cell phones, trying to impress a friend with their overpriced vacation plans.

Elderta

When I was a kid, my best friend's sister fell on an escalator and somehow her arm got caught in it. It ripped her arm up good. She still has a nasty scar from it. I learned from that incident to always be super careful on an escalator.

GordonTramesko

That sucks for the girl because Crocs are only acceptable on little children YOU HEAR THAT MARIO BATTAGLIA?!

ChampionOfTheSun

Crocs. Bluetooth. Fanny Pack.

Things that make you look like a douche.

SP

"distributes them to the needy around the world, hopefully in less advanced countries where they still climb stairs."

LOL, dude you keep coming with more hits.

emilydickinson

Someone should sue Crocs for making the most unflattering, hideous footwear available. Nothing says 'Fat and Lazy and 'I've given up on life' like a pair of crocs. I imagine, Crocs getting stuck in escalators are a great new form of social Darwinism.

smitty

I also fell on an escalator when I was a kid and was mildly hurt. Parents should be careful with kids on escalators. They are oddly quite dangerous.

gossipgirl

This is sort of embarassing, but this happened to me when I was 5 or 6. I was wearing Ked's. My big toe gotten "eaten" by the escalor. There was blood and I lost the toenail and had to get a lot of stitches. It was pretty gross.

It's not crocs fault.

gossipgirl

This is sort of embarassing, but this happened to me when I was 5 or 6. I was wearing Ked's. My big toe gotten "eaten" by the escalor. There was blood and I lost the toenail and had to get a lot of stitches. It was pretty gross.

It's not crocs fault.

Jen Chung

Thanks, LinkMan. I'm very clumsy as is, so I try to avoid shoes that lend themselves to more wipeouts.

LinkMan

I have a pair. They're extremely comfortable and quite agile. Softer and MUCH lighter than Birkenstocks or Tevas. They also put a little bounce in my step because of their material.

The only complaints I have are that in NYC my feet get really dirty (as they do with any open shoes) and I find I get sweatier in Crocs than I do in other sandals (or proper socks and shoes).

I haven't found any problem with navigating the streets or other daily obstacles. I'll probably buy some for my kid when he's old enough and just make sure he's careful on escalators (as I'd encourage with any shoes).

Steven

Wear sneakers.

Keep the loose shoes for the home or on the beach.

Jen Chung

I have never worn Crocs, so I don't know how easy they are for navigating the streets and various other daily obstacles. That said, they seem a little cumbersome. Can someone share their experiences?

Kojak

Thats what happens when you wear such ridiculous shoes.

Reality Czech

I once had elevator doors close on my backpack and crush my Twinkies.

Snoopy

Ban all escalators! Where is Ralph Nadir? Al Sharpton and others?

This world is going to hell in a handbasket with all these electrically supplied conveniences.

Take the f'in stairs you idiots along with your strollers and gummy shoes.

Sue them all! Those pieces of inconsiderate morons! Sue them! Make America strong again. Sue them!

Sure beats working for a living.

loganmo

Back in May, my boyfriend also tripped on an escalator and tore part of his toenail off-as we were running to catch our flight to hell (aka heathrow). Maybe she should sue the Port Authority too?