Don’t Settle For Less

Don’t Settle For Less

Fatal New York Elevator Accident Gives Way to Lawsuits

On Behalf of | Jan 20, 2012 | Elevator Accidents

Every day, countless New Yorkers get to work by taking one of the hundreds of elevators located throughout the city. These same people take it for granted that elevator travel will get them to where they are going quickly and safely – trusting that the elevators are properly designed, installed and maintained in proper working order. Unfortunately, a gruesome elevator accident last month in Manhattan illustrates just how severe – and deadly – accidents can be when elevator travel goes awry.

The accident occurred when an advertising-agency executive was boarding an elevator on her way to work when the elevator suddenly went upward, pinning the woman between the elevator car and elevator shaft. The entire accident occurred with co-workers watching helplessly from within the elevator – and just hours after an elevator service company performed electrical maintenance work on the elevator.

Elevator Accidents Lawsuits

Recently, a co-worker of the elevator victim – who was in the elevator at the time of the accident – asked a New York court to issue an injunction to preserve the site of the horrific event so that she may inspect the site for evidence of possible liability. In addition to allegedly being injured during the incident, the co-worker has stated that she not only witnessed the freak accident, but that she was trapped in the elevator for a long time with the body of the victim – now making it too traumatic for her to use elevators.

Unfortunately, the company servicing the Manhattan elevator is no stranger to controversy. The same company that serviced this elevator only hours before the fatal accident is also being sued regarding an injury that allegedly occurred after a service elevator violently and abruptly stopped in New York’s Plaza Hotel – allegedly breaking bones in the process.

It can often be difficult to determine who is at fault for elevator accidents, but a proper investigation can help determine liability. Some possible causes of elevator accidents include jammed elevator doors, mis-leveling, failing brakes or even strained cables. Although the vast majority of elevator trips are uneventful, every once in a while a devastating accident does occur.

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