Any sort of shoe can get caught in an escalator. I am not saying this does not happen with the Crocs. High and stilleto heeled shoes seem to be more dangerous on these moving stairs than the softer shoes. A stilleto heel can get stuck in the crevices of the escalator steps, too.

Yes, but small children do not usually wear stilleto heels. They wear crocs by the thousands!

A recent report on 60 Minutes was shocking. They took a Croc type shoe, put it along the side of the escalator and the escalator pulled it in time after time after time. It's not a fluke thing. The injuries they showed were devastating foot and toe injuries.

The rubber material does not skid. It gets pulled into the edge of the escalator and traps the foot of the person wearing it.

Crocs can also be dangerous as they wear down. The bottom becomes smooth so there is no traction. I took a fall on some stairs and the crocs went into the garbage. Please watch this carefully, especially with kids and older people.

I have seen a person wearing sneakers get his foot stuck in an escalator. It's not necessarily the shoe a person is wearing, but whether or not the safety rules are being followed. In particular, not standing near the side, but towards the middle of the step.

I have tripped numerous times when wearing Crocs. The forward edge of the shoe seems to stick on the pavement or concrete and stay there while I'm still going forward. I haven't fallen yet, thank goodness, but it feels like an accident waiting to happen. I rarely wear them any more because of this, but I love how comfortable they are. I have 4 pairs that I'm reluctant to wear anywhere but inside the house.

For wearing the most comfortable footwear ever, yes, I've paid the price of slipping on wet surface, too, Parents should not have small ones encounter one of the most fearful machines ever, the escalator, barefoot or soft shoed.

The rubber in any shoe does not slide,I have had my Crocs get caught but I had read about this happening so I was prepared. I also have fallen wearing my Crocs.They just plain stopped on me as I was walking, unfortunately I was hurt quite badly. I will not wear my Crocs when I go shopping because there is a possiblity of them stopping me and make me lose my balance.I wear them in the yard or on the cement, they do not seem to stopped dead on cement,dirt,grass or sand.

The foremost problem seems to be the stickiness of the croc. Then the flexibility lets it be squeezed and drawn into the works. Fix either, and the problem should lessen.

I'm surprised that CR didn't suggest carrying little kids on escalators rather than supervising them.

tOM

I did fall the other day in the grocery store. My toe stopped and I went flying and landed on my hands and knees. Luckily I didn't break my kneecaps. I called Crocs and I'm waiting to see if they will do anything, although the customer service rep sounded reluctant and said that they couldn't resell them. So we'll see. But I doubt if I will wwear them anymore.

Everyone just needs to pay attention and be careful on escalators, no matter what they are wearing. I saw teh Metro poster showing a pile of shoes involved in escalator accidents there, and there were some of every kind of shoe in the picture. Those kinds of accidents happened long before Crocs showed up on the scene. As for those whose feet get stuck on non-moving surfaces, just pick up your feet more when wearing soft soled shoes and the problem will be solved.

I wear crocs everyday, everywhere. I have never had any accident, fall, etc. I am careful where and how I walk no matter what show I am wearing. I do not recommend smaller children wearing them as they do not know how to avoid some of the causes of these injuries. Also, please wear the straps across your ankles - it will help both your foot and your chances of an accident. Any shoe with no back or strap support at all is asking for trouble. Thanks.

This lawsuit is nothing but a croc! I've torn my ACL, ruptured my achilles, broken both arms, chipped teeth and the like because of many factors, perhaps including the shoes I was wearing. People should take more responsibility for their actions and look out for their safety and the safety of their children and stop blaming others and hoping to win large settlements! Perhaps Crocs could pay the medical expenses (if the child was not covered under a health plan already). Otherwise suck it up, watch your children more carefully and buy a shoe for every occasion. You could carry with you a pair for walking, riding escalators, taking the stairs or elevator, walking a decline, walking an incline, walking in sand, walking in grass, running on pavement, etc. Goodness folks! Are you kidding me???

Crocs are the ugliest shoes ever invented. They (along with flip flops, which I think are tacky too) are for lazy people who don't want to bend over and tie a real shoe. I bet these are the same people who owned parachute pants in the 80s.

For all those doubters out there, and those who say parents should watch their kids, try travelling with three kids, all under the age of 8, with luggage, and flight time issues, AND making sure they hold onto the escalator handrail AND that they dont let the shoe their wearing touch the side..Thats the problem, KIDS want to touch the side--they like it..Do it in a sneaker--no big deal, do it in a CROC and bye bye toes! The issue here is did the parents know that danger when they bought the CROC and the answer is NO--why? because crocs didnt issue a simple warning--isse the warning and the parents to blame, BUT THATS NOT THE CASE HERE BECAUSE ISSUE THE WARNING AND SALES GO DOWN!!!! Dont you people get it? It really is so simple when you look at it from $$ persepctive of CROCS...so for those who say the trial lawyers are too much, think again!

croc should take more responsability for a defect or danger in wearing there shoe, but also they should be made to put a warning on them so a parent is aware. all these people on here say its lazy people or irresponsible parents, but in reality... if it was one of your children who's toes got cut off, simply cause they stepped off too late or they had a foot resting too close to the side, you would be irate, and feel your child should have some kind of justice for the perminate disfiguration. have compassion for other man kind, every one should stand up for companys to care about what there products are doing to people. its just like kids playing with toys and getting led poison, i suppose thats there fault too?....

Ok folks let's grow a brain. Crocs is not to blame here. Be it a croc, sandle, tennis shoe, or dress shoe, it doesn't matter childrens feet are small and are more inclined to get caught in an escalator. If you want to blame something, blame the people who make the stupid escalators and make them make the escalators safer for everyone. There have also been other stories about escalators and children getting coats and shoe laces caught in escalators but have you seen shoe laces torn off the market shelves or the producers of said shoe laces get bashed for their product in relation to escalators....NO! Grow up people and watch your kids until someone wises up and repairs the real problem that is unsafe escalators. Too often parents are so busy with their schedules they fail to pay attention to their children every second of the day NOR CAN they pay attention to them every second because they wouldn't get anything else done. Personally, you want healthier and safer children....use the stairs!!! Their waistlines will appreciate you when they get older and you won't have to worry about their little toes getting stuck in places they shouldn't. Don't hate the crocs, hate the escalators.

There have been warnings out about crocs and similar shoes since 2006! What happened is tragic, BUT the parents bear some amount of responsibility for giving in to their child's wanting a shoe that has been proved dangerous for at least 3 years.

To quote the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that 77 escalator entrapment incidents have been reported since January 2006, half of which resulted in injury. All but two of the incidents involved soft-sided flexible clogs and slides such as Crocs. The CPSC doesn't reference the brand Crocs in its announcement but acknowledges that Crocs fall into the category of soft shoes they are warning about.

"This is a newer product on the market that poses a risk and we felt it was responsible to let consumers know," said CPSC spokesperson Julie Vallese. "It's not the shoe causing the injury but an unintentional risk when using an escalator."

I also thought the stories of kids getting their crocs stuck in an escalator was silly. My daughter has been wearing crocs since she was 3. She will be 5 in less then a month and today the entire front half of her crocs were torn off while she was holding my hand on an escalator. She was not playing around or standing at the end of the escalator waiting for it to guide her off. They just sucked her shoe right in the teeth of the elevator. The plastic is too soft and dangerous. What are we suppose to do, void escalators? We are very lucky that she was not injured. My daughter will never wear crocs again and I will make sure that every parent group in Los Angeles CA knows about this problem. If I could post photo's on this site I would.

another child wearing Crocs in Sinagpore has lost her toe in an escalator

It just keeps happening and now crocs has been forced in Japan to redesign its shoes to make them safer--why not here in the us???

WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!

People have been riding escalators for years, but for some reason people still get killed or hurt on them. Come on, we're smarter than that.

The family of a Southwest Florida boy who fractured his foot in an escalator accident is suing the makers of Crocs shoes. The boy was wearing a pair of Crocs at Miami International Airport when one became entangled in an escalator.

Read the Naples Daily News story and take our poll:

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/apr/08/local-family-sues-makers-crocs-escalator-accident-/

cool tips... I My mom just bought a new Crocs, and I'm scared about the toe thingy. Be aware!!!

Hi

We had a similar spate of incidents in the UK about 20 years ago when "jellie" rubber sandals worn by kids were drawn into the sides of escalators. We now fit skirting edge deflectors to all escalators and have the escalators inspected every 6 month by an independent inspector; this has greatly reduced incidents at the side of the steps. However the incidents that still happen, with the machine, are at the exit point when the steps go into the combplate. If the combplate is correctly adjusted and undamaged then it is usually not a problem unless there is a problem with the footwear e.g. the laces not being tied.

The increasing number of incidents that we are seeing revolve around people falling from the side of the escalators in open plan environments whether they are persons trying to ride the hand rail up the side of the machine or children falling from parents arms over the side of the handrail. For these reasons I believe that the escalators should be enclosed to remove the risk of these incidents.

Escalators are potentially dangerous machines that if not designed, installed, maintained or used correctly will cause major injuries - people beware.

Just yesterday my 4yr old haad his croc sucked in by the escalator. It took the whole front half of the croc. He was very lucky to escape w/out injury. There is a serious problem here with crocs. Little kids do not mind the rules and that is a fact of life. All of these people who say kids must follow the rules and be careful have obviously never had children.

However, it is very simple to solve the problem. DON"T BUY CROCS. I will not buy ever again and I will tell everyone my story.

I am a crocs lover and I had heard of the escalator croc stories, but never really gave it a second thought. We just returned from vacation and on July 9, 2009 in a store in Las Vegas my daughters "mary jane" style croc was sucked off her foot. She was standing next to the side on the way down and said "my shoe is missing". It happened so quickly and how she was able to remove her foot without harm, I'll never know. The croc was literally sucked in and only approx. 1" was still visible. We will buy a new pair, but my children will never wear them on an escalator again. To not put blame on Crocs is ridiculous, they are selling a product that has a serious hazard to anyone who wears thier shoes. If my daughter would have been injured,I would be taking legal action against crocs, the store and the escalator manufacturer. Buyer Beware, be responsible.

We are on Holiday in the UK and yesterday my 6 year old daughter's foot got sucked on the side of an Escalator at a popular shopping centre in Croydon. She was wearing Crocs...Her big toe had severe lacerations and we had to rush her to hospital. Luckily it looks like its not a permanent injury. However it could have been much worse as we struggled to free her. There have been a number of similar incidents worldwide and the question arises whether the manufacturers of Crocs are putting any warning labels on their products. Its been a traumatic experience for us and more so for our daughter.

I imagine that ANY shoe made of rubbery material would get caught more easily in an escalator should you be standing wrong on one. Note that "standing wrong" is the main issue there. Parents don't watch where there children s feet are on escalators. I have seen it a million times. They might enter them properly but then the children proceed to move around and slide their feet, stretch for the moving rails because they want to hold on, rather then staying put. Kids should hold an adults hand because holding the rail moves their smaller bodies to close to the moving edge of the stairs. Its all posted on each and every escalator you ride. Unfortunately nobody pays the required attention until little Susie's slip on gets sucked up and causes an injury. Before thinking about a lawsuit think about this. What if Crocs came back with their own lawsuit suing you for being a negligent parent in allowing your child to ride the escalator with his/her feet in a dangerous position while wearing slip on shoes? I mean the escalator did not just reach up and grab the childs foot because she/he was wearing a Croc. The childs foot was where it should not have been...in a dangerous position..then an accident happened.. and the shoe did exactly what it was suppose to be doing. Not slipping. Crocs are designed not to be slippery shoes. So I imagine they are not going to slip right out of elevator teeth or slip and slide against moving metal. Elevators are dangerous. People take them for granted. Don't blame the shoes you were wearing. That is just stupid.

My daughter's croc got pulled into the side of the escalator when we were half way down, no where near to an emergency stop button, luckily her shoes were older and when she pulled her foot back it broke the back ankle strap and she was not injured. The escalator pulled her shoe and her sock off of her foot and they both popped out from the side two steps up behind us. She was standing next to me on the step and holding my hand and behaving. She wasn't bouncing around or misbehaving. I don't necessarily think it was the shoe. Although we ride escalators all the time and this is the first and last time she has worn her crocs on the escalator. I had seen kids and adults get things stuck in the bottom and top areas of the escalators and that was where I thought the danger areas were. I never thought about the sides of an escalator. Perhaps a guard or shield should be designed to cover this area so that people don't get clothing or shoes caught. I am just thankful my daughter wasn't hurt. She is 8 years old and I don't think she will be back on an escalator anytime soon. I think it is ridiculous to sue the shoe company for an injury. The croc company didn't make any claim that the shoes were a safety shoe, nor great to wear at all times. I think too many people are sue happy and want to make money from anything they can. Perhaps we should all look at how to make escalators safer or install stationary stairs. The store we were in has no obvious stationary stairs for public use, I'm sure they have to have them for evacuation purposes.

I wish I had seen all of these comments before.....I never knew this was a problem....my 6 year old was on the long escalators in Universal studios in Hollywood, escalator caught her foot and literally shredded the top of the toe....I was scared to take the shoe off her foot with all the screaming and could see that her foot was bleeding,....luckily the toes were only skinned all the way across the top, bleeding, but she so could have easily lost the toes on her foot........very bad!!

Simple - don't buy Crocs

This just happened to my 3 yr old son last weekend - he was holding my hand and next thing I knew his shoe was stuck in the side of the escalator. Lots of trauma and 6 stitches later - he's okay. I had no idea his Crocs shoes posed such a danger. Had I been warned I would have acted differently. The CPSC warning never reached me. It needs to be on the escalator or better yet, on the shoes!

This happened to my 3 year old daughter on the escalators at Denver International Airport in September. Her foot was sucked into the side; her croc was completely mangled and she got a nasty slice on her little toe. Thankfully we saw what was happening and pulled her foot out otherwise it could definitely have been worse. I googled the topic of Crocs and Escalators just to see if anyone else had this experience, and was shocked to find so many incidents. I just wanted other parents to be aware of the risk - it never crossed our mind that this could happen before it actually did!