An infant was killed and her mother seriously injured in an elevator accident in Brooklyn earlier this month. The six-week-old little girl-Areej Ali-was in a stroller that plunged down an elevator shaft at a Brooklyn apartment building on Thursday, October 14th. The elevator was under repair at the time of the accident but there were no signs posted and the doors were not locked in the closed position.
The little girl fell eight feet when the doors opened suddenly and landed on the top of an out-of-service elevator car. Her mother, 21-year-old Aber Al-Rahabi, fell down the shaft as well and landed on top of the stroller. The elevator car then dropped from the 23rd floor to the 15th.
Tenants had complained about the malfunctioning elevator earlier that week, which prompted a visit from the Centennial Elevator Co. A mechanic from the company was the first person to respond after hearing screams from the injured woman and her child.
EMTs attempted CPR to save the child but her injuries were too severe. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The mother suffered unspecified physical injuries. This tragic death will undoubtedly scar her emotionally for life.
Officials investigating this terrible elevator accident in New York City found that apartment residents had complained about the elevators at least 20 times since January of 2015. Records from a September inspection of the car involved in this deadly elevator accident in Brooklyn note an unspecified “defect.” Investigators further uncovered a long history of Department of Buildings violations at the apartment complex. There are currently 50 open violations on file-including four for elevator issues.
The company in charge of servicing the elevators in at this apartment complex is currently under two separate investigations by OSHA.
If you have been injured by defective or unsafe elevators at an apartment or office building complex, you could be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries. Contact an experienced New York City elevator accident lawyer immediately. Call the Law Offices of Nussin S. Fogel at 800-734-9338 or 212-385-1122 today.