Trapped in a lift for 14 hours, still stuck in a legal fight
Caroline Campbell pictured at a birthday. She was trapped in a lift for 14 hours.
An Auckland woman who was trapped in a lift for 14 hours says she is determined to establish who was responsible, more than a year on from the ordeal.
On a February evening last year, Caroline Campbell popped into a self-storage unit in Auckland to drop off a couple of boxes, but she became trapped in a lift - without food, water, or a phone - until the following morning.
Campbell, who is self-employed, previously said she has suffered from claustrophobia, lack of sleep, and anxiety since the incident.
Guardian has storage facilities in four locations across the North Island.
During the ordeal, she stuffed cardboard in her ears because the alarm, which she was triggering intermittently, was so loud.
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She could hear a phone ringing but after a while she realised no-one was coming to help.
About 8am the next day, when she thought people would be in the building, she started to scream. A man heard her cries, the Fire Service was called, and she was freed, exhausted and dehydrated, but physically unharmed.
But figuring out who was at fault has dragged on for more than a year.
Correspondence between lawyers is ongoing, but Campbell says she is determined to hang in for the long haul.
She said she understands litigation can take time but said she felt it was a matter of principle to try to determine responsibility for the lift failure.
"I understand from [my lawyer] that is usual in these types of matters. But the parties do seem to be dragging the chain a bit and procrastinating.
"That for me makes me feel more determined and somewhat frustrated because I just don't think they are taking the matter seriously from my perspective, and they're not taking any sense of ownership or responsibility.
"I'm getting more determined. It's become a matter of principle in the end because I do believe they have responsibility and they could have done things differently and changed practices.
"If I was an employee there would be every recourse. I don't feel like I'm being respected and taken seriously. It's a personal matter of morality and ethics."
Last year, the 56-year-old instructed a lawyer, Keith Young, alleging negligence against the storage company and the lift maintenance engineer, allegations the company has strenuously denied.
Young said correspondence was ongoing and he had asked whether mediation was possible.
He asked for details of the lift manufacturer and parts supplier, he said.
"I'm still waiting to hear about who manufactured the part and the supplier.
"At the moment we're in a hiatus. I'm waiting on others to respond to me. I really do need to know about the manufacturer and supplier."
Stuff asked Guardian Self Storage and the company's lawyer for comment.
In an email, a lawyer for Guardian said the matter was still being handled by the respective parties' legal representatives.
"It is therefore still inappropriate for Guardian Secure Storage to make any comment at this stage."
- Stuff
