Man dies in tragic New York City elevator accident

A 37 year-old man was killed, the New York Times reported, “after he stepped into an elevator whose unpredictable jerks and wobbles had occasionally unnerved tenants.” The door remained open but the elevator plunged to the basement, carrying the man and four friends. They were all afraid but only he to tried to step out of the elevator. The elevator suddenly shot back up toward the lobby, its door still ajar, with the man halfway out. His body was crushed between the elevator and the basement ceiling and elevator shaft. He was later pronounced dead by emergency medical workers.

According to the Times, the elevator was the only one in the building and had been tagged with four violations since 2013, all of them since resolved. The elevator had also drawn three complaints for being unsafe or unreliable in 2012, according to records from the New York City Buildings Department.

Hundreds of people are seriously injured or killed in elevator accidents in the United States each year. Any time someone is killed in an elevator accident, it must be determined if there was a product defect or some type of mechanical malfunction that caused it. An investigation must be undertaken to determine whether the building and elevator are up to code, whether the elevator was properly maintained and serviced and whether the elevator was defective in some manner? An determination must be made whether the accident could have been prevented.

In cases involving negligence, the building owner or management company can be held liable for the injuries suffered in the accident. To receive compensation for a New York premises liability case, an experienced attorney can help an injured victim or a deceased victim’s family obtain a monetary award from the parties at fault.

The attorneys at ODB have helped many victims of elevator accidents in the past and have a proven track record of handling other premises liability claims including elevator and escalator accidents, stairway accidents and sidewalk accidents. If you, a loved one or a friend or neighbor has been seriously injured on someone else’s property, please contact us or call our offices at 800 471-2402 for a free consultation.