With elevator certificates, so many levels of risk.

Byline: Matthew E. Christoph

Spend enough time anywhere in Boston and you are bound to walk into an elevator, press your floor, and stare at a costly mistake for any unprepared landlord: the elevator inspection certificate.

The error can manifest in two forms: a notice telling you where to go to "view" the certificate, or an expired certificate. We have all seen it: "Contact Landlord for Elevator Certificate," or, more commonly, a dusty certificate reflecting an inspection date from around the industrial era.

Elevator safety in Massachusetts has drawn public and political scrutiny following a fatal accident in September involving a maintenance worker at TripAdvisor's Needham headquarters.

The Boston Business Journal recently reported that between 2016 and 2018, nearly a dozen people were injured on elevators overdue for inspection.

The issue has even garnered attention from Gov. Charlie Baker, who has allocated almost $15 million to the Office of Public Safety and Inspections as part of his budget proposal for the current fiscal year a nearly $1 million increase to address the backlog of overdue elevator inspections.

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Ignorance of the law is no excuse. In other words, no one will be contacting your clients to remind them of their obligation.

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The core issue is that there are thousands of elevators in the commonwealth lacking annual inspections. In response to the public risk, the Department of Public Safety has issued a large number of fines in recent years seeking sobering amounts from operators statewide.

In 2015, DPS issued 488 fines totaling $712,300, including one $80,700 fine, 13 fines above $30,000, and three fines totaling $60,000.

In 2016, DPS issued 1,042 fines totaling $1,346,400, including 14 fines of $40,000 or more and one $80,000 fine.

In 2017, DPS issued 421 fines totaling $481,050, including 31 fines of $20,000 or more.

Last year, DPS issued 355 fines totaling $1,314,800, including 14 fines of $20,000 or more.

Lawyers representing businesses and property owners should confirm that their clients are scheduling annual inspections. Everyone wins when attorneys advise early and often to get the issue addressed in clients' properties.

There also are ways in which counsel can push back against citation-related fines to save clients time and money.

Ignorance of the law no excuse

In 2018, DPS sent fine notices to a wide swath of high-profile Massachusetts businesses and organizations, including prominent...