Can I File a Lawsuit After an Elevator Accident in New York City?

Elevator accidents can be traumatic experiences that have the potential to result in severe injuries or even fatalities. These accidents may occur due to various factors, such as mechanical failures, poor maintenance, or operator negligence (carelessness). If you’ve been a victim of an elevator accident, it’s crucial to better understand your rights and options before seeking compensation that covers medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages.

In the aftermath of an elevator accident, the physical, emotional, and financial toll on victims can be overwhelming. Seeking compensation for your injuries and losses is not only your right but often a necessary step to regain a sense of justice and financial stability.

Steps to Take After an Elevator Accident

Here are a few steps that would be well advised to take immediately after an elevator accident:

1. Seek prompt medical attention. After an elevator accident, the first and foremost concern should be your health and well-being. Regardless of the severity of your injuries, seeking medical attention is crucial. Not only is it essential for your recovery, but it also helps establish a medical record of your injuries. This record may become vital evidence in your case.
2. Contact a personal injury lawyer. Navigating the legal complexities of a case after an elevator accident can be challenging. Therefore, it’s advisable to consult with a qualified personal injury attorney with experience handling premises liability cases and specifically, elevator accidents. An attorney can help you understand your legal rights, evaluate the strength of your case, and guide you through the legal process.
3. Preserve crucial evidence. Preserving evidence is essential when preparing for a potential case. Document the accident scene by taking photographs, recording details, and collecting information from any witnesses. Make sure to obtain contact information from anyone who may have seen the accident. This evidence can be invaluable in establishing liability and the extent of your damages. Your New York elevator accident lawyer can also help you with this process.

Determining Liability and the Value of Your Case

Determining who may be liable for the elevator accident is a crucial step in your case. Potential parties that may be responsible include building owners, maintenance companies, elevator manufacturers, or even the operator, depending on the circumstances. Your attorney will help identify the responsible parties and gather evidence to support your claim.

To seek monetary compensation, you need to assess the extent of your damages. Your attorney will help you evaluate and document all your losses, which may include medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, pain and suffering, rehabilitation costs, and other relevant expenses. Understanding the full scope of your damages is essential for negotiating a settlement or presenting your case in court.

Once the liable parties have been identified and your damages have been determined, you and your attorney can decide whether to pursue a settlement through negotiation or file a lawsuit. The path you choose will depend on the circumstances of your case and the willingness of the at-fault parties to compensate you fairly. While a majority of elevator accident cases are settled out of court, some cases do make their way to trial. This is why you need an attorney who is a skilled negotiator and a trial lawyer.

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 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. Our law firm helped a client secure $1,750,000 in a case where she suffered an ankle injury requiring surgery when the elevator she was in fell four floors due to negligence (carelessness) on the part of the elevator maintenance company. In addition, we got the workers’ compensation insurance company to pay a $150,000 lump sum for future medical benefits. 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, lead poisoning and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy 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.

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