A man was killed after being caught by an elevator’s moving parts at a Brooklyn building as he was trying to retrieve a dropped cell phone. According to a news report in Gothamist.com, the elevator accident occurred when the 64-year victim who worked as an assistant building superintendent was helping a tenant get back a cell phone that had fallen into the elevator pit.
History of Complaints
Both men reportedly had gone down to the elevator room in the basement of the 
building at 225 Parkside Avenue in Prospect Lefferts and were inside it when the accident occurred. The Department of Buildings (DOB) who are investigating the incident stated that the elevator had somehow been activated causing its hoist ropes and elevator sheave to move. The victim then became entangled in the elevator’s moving parts before being crushed by it. Paramedics who arrived at the scene pronounced the man dead. The tenant also suffered minor injuries while trying to free the victim and was taken to a nearby hospital.
Officials say that there have been many prior complaints regarding this elevator, with DOB records indicating the most recent one made in December 2020. That complaint stated that the elevator was not working and also that it had not been operational in the past few months. Other complaints that go back to 2019 show both the building’s elevators were down and their inspection certificate was not displayed.
This incident marks the second elevator related fatality in less than a month. Earlier in February, a mechanic died and another person was injured in the Bronx as they were carrying out repairs. Our deepest condolences go out to the victim’s family for their tragic loss in this elevator accident. The assistant building superintendent here was an immigrant who had been working in the building since 1992, based on the news account.
Elevator Accidents
Mechanics, residents and guests at buildings have been frequently injured or killed as a result of malfunctioning elevators/escalators in New York City. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that an estimated 27 people die from such incidents each year.
About half of the fatalities for elevator users were due to falls into the elevator shaft and the remaining were a result of being caught between the elevator and the shaft wall. In this case, the victim was trapped by moving parts. One of the most common malfunctions that occurs involves the pulley system and the cables that hold the elevator in place. When this does not work properly, the elevator can plunge down at high speeds with the potential to cause severe injuries including blunt force trauma.
Responsibility of Property Owners/Managers
Property owners and/or property managers must ensure that the elevators and escalators in their buildings are well maintained and safe to operate. They can be held accountable for injuries and losses caused by an elevator
accident, particularly if they failed to have the elevator maintained or didn’t make timely repairs. Some of the other parties who can be held responsible include elevator maintenance companies – for instance, when they fail to perform the repair and maintenance work correctly, and/or elevator manufacturers, for any component or equipment failure or due to defective design/manufacturing.
Injured victims can file what is known as a premises liability lawsuit against at-fault property owners and/or managing agents, elevator maintenance companies, etc. and seek compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, hospitalization, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc. Those who have lost loved ones in elevator accidents may be able to file wrongful death lawsuits against the negligent (careless) parties seeking compensation for their losses as well.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in an elevator/escalator accident or suffered injuries as a result of negligence (carelessness) on the part of property owners and/or property managers, elevator maintenance companies, etc., the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Our law firm recovered $3,000,000 for a man who fell and suffered two broken legs when he walked into an open elevator shaft. In an interview by the Canadian television station Global News after a fatal escalator accident in Montreal, Mr. Kenneth A. Wilhelm stated that the installation of emergency stop buttons that are easily located and run the entire length of the escalator stairs may go a long way in preventing escalator accident injuries and fatalities. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and/or medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
https://gothamist.com/news/assistant-building-super-brooklyn-dies-freak-accident-while-retrieving-tenants-cell-phone