As an expert door witness, I am called many times a year to assess garage door injuries. Garage doors come in many shapes and sizes. Its functions range from basic area security to cosmetic concealment. Most doors can be broken down into a few basic styles or categories. Typical modern garage doors for residential applications tend to be efficient of the higher sectional variety. That style of door comes in many configurations, materials, insulation levels, and a wide range of appearance possibilities. They are available as a prefabricated kit or built as a custom design to complement any building’s décor. Commercial warehouse type facilities often impose higher security requirements. A good choice for this type of security door is the “roll-up” style which resembles a roll-top desk type of door. This door can be made from a variety of materials that can be as strong as the adjacent walls, making forced entry through this opening very difficult. Other common commercial installations include lightweight aluminum sectional or single panel doors. These gates function more to close off an already secured area than to ensure point security.
In the past, the biggest concern when operating an overhead garage door was the potential risks associated with the springs used to balance the weight of the door. Garage door installations prior to the mid-1960s typically relied on a pair of stretched (tensioned) springs to assist the operation of the garage door’s pivot hinges. These springs were charged (tensioned) when the door moved to the closed position. The discharge (release) of the stored spring energy occurred when the door was opened to the top horizontal position. One of the most dangerous aspects of these spring systems was that after a period of time, often without any maintenance or inspection, the attachment points of these springs would rust or weaken. This weakening of the springs or attachment points would often lead to an unintentional explosive failure that would throw the broken spring components across the garage, embedding the spring or steel components in garage walls, cars, or other items in the path of the load. trip. Unfortunately, sometimes people got in the way of these explosive events. Since these springs failed, as a safety measure, some manufacturers devised a “caging” system for the springs. These cages accommodated the stretched springs in an attempt to capture the parts that would come loose if failure occurred. While these caging devices were useful, they were not completely effective. Some of these spring-loaded devices are still in use today. Whenever this condition exists or the quality of shop components is questionable, a qualified professional service technician should be consulted.
In response to the inherently dangerous problems of older style garage springs mentioned above, a newer and safer system for opening the overhead garage door has been created. The idea was to transfer the load or weight of the door through a cable and pulley system to a vertical bar now equipped with a torsion (twisted) spring. This type of spring is installed with special hardware and bolted to a fixed plate at one end, while the entire spring is installed around a horizontal tube. This load balancing device is typically installed directly above the garage opening header. Using proper cables, connectors, and pulleys, the weight of the garage door is transferred to the torsion spring system. The difference between the older style drawn spring and the newer torsion spring is the way the spring energy is stored. With the old-style stretched spring, energy is stored and released by pulling the spring back or returning it to its unstretched condition. With a torsion spring type, energy is imparted or removed by turning the spring clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on the direction of use. With a professional installation, the full load of the torsion spring is controlled by the garage installer and is determined by the weight and size of the garage door you are operating. When this type of torsion spring fails, it remains attached and intact at the location on the horizontal control rod where it was mounted. I have not heard of or seen any torsion spring fly through a garage, creating injuries from faulty components like with stretched old style garage door springs. This is not to say that injuries have not occurred with the torsion-style spring. Installation of this type of spring is generally safe when left to a trained garage door installation professional. Severe and serious injuries have occurred when untrained and unqualified persons have attempted to install or repair this type of spring. In most installations, a warning tag is left next to the torsion spring when the garage door is installed. This label warns of the danger associated with the stored energy of this spring and alerts untrained persons not to attempt to repair, adjust, or even touch the spring and associated hardware. When the label to be placed on this spring is damaged, removed, or altered, it is important to re-apply a new warning label immediately to show the dangers of this spring tension.
Garage doors can be operated manually (by hand) as well as automatically (by power assisted motor). In both cases, proper garage door operation is determined by proper balance of the garage door’s weight, springs, and related hardware components. An automatic motor assisted cannot overcome a poorly balanced garage door. The weight of all garage doors is often misleading. Due to the fact that a properly working door appears easy to open and close, many users are not aware of the total combined weight until the springs stop assisting the door in its operation. In all cases, regardless of the type of garage door, the entire system of hinges, guides, fittings and door openers work as a team. Misalignment, drift, or jamming issues can cause problems with a door’s operation. Counterforces imparted to a garage door, not designed into the components, can cause injury. Improper maintenance or complete lack of maintenance has resulted in serious bodily injury. Forcing operation of a garage door, when one or more components have been damaged or broken, has caused serious bodily injury. In all cases, maintenance is a crucial and important aspect for the proper functioning of all door systems.
Unlike an overhead garage door, whether sectional or single panel, roll-up doors have a totally different type of operating system. When these doors are used, they can be hidden in a channel above or below. These doors function similarly to a roll top desk door, except for how they store when not in the closed position. They typically roll up as they retract and require significant gear trains to reduce the effort required to move these doors up and down into position. Often the forces required to move these rolling doors require a type of reduction transmission that allows a very heavy door to be operated effortlessly. These gates can be manually chain driven or can be automated using electric motors. Rolling doors require more frequent evaluation and maintenance than a standard overhead garage door. Rails that are mounted vertically on both sides of the garage opening need more frequent maintenance and cleaning and are often blocked by foreign obstructions or damaged by collisions of some kind. These roll-up doors are often held open by some type of ratcheting action. The proper balance of these doors is usually more important than that of a swinging door, since the weight of these types of doors is usually much greater than that of a swinging door.
I have been involved in numerous garage door lawsuits where many different reasons for an injury have occurred. Having been hired as an expert witness for both the plaintiff and the defense, several common factors have been noted. In many cases, unqualified people have attempted to repair or install garage doors. They lack the knowledge, skills, or even the basic tools required to do the job safely and properly. I have been retained as an expert by garage door manufacturers and installers to defend claims that they are not responsible for alleged product defects. In most cases, the components that failed failed as a result of abuse or improper installation by the end user. As stated above, many garage doors are not suitable for the untrained person to install. One exception to this relates to do-it-yourself garage door kits sold at local home centers. A homeowner might install the gate because these kits do not come with a professional-grade hardware package that would or would require special knowledge to install. These kits do not typically employ torsion springs which require special knowledge, proper tools and job skills to install. The doors are typically for light use. Professional installation services are often available through a home center to help a homeowner in need of a specialized installation. As with most trade-specific tasks, years of experience working as a professional installer qualifies tradesmen for their contracting license. The average homeowner who watches some TV shows that give rough explanations of how to install garage doors is usually not qualified to install their own door. These “how-to” TV shows are not a replacement for the many skills gained after working in the field.
The above article is a very brief description of some types of garage doors. I have not given any specific details regarding proper business conduct nor have I listed any information regarding the potential for serious bodily injury.
