Responding to the Jan. 9 Bronx fire that killed 17 people including eight children,
the New York City Council is working on bills that would crack down on landlords (building owners) who fail to maintain self-closing doors in their buildings. According to a report in the New York Daily News, the city would do this by imposing stiffer fines on property owners and property managers who fail to maintain their self-closing doors.
The Daily News reports that the effort is being led by Councilman Oswald Feliz who was elected last year to represent the section of the Bronx that includes the Twin Parks apartment tower in Fordham Heights that was involved in the deadly fire. Officials are still looking into why the self-closing doors did not close on that fateful day allowing smoke to fill the entire building causing severe smoke inhalation injuries. All of those who died were critically affected by smoke inhalation, officials said.
Law to Hold Building Owners Accountable
Councilman Feliz has stated that the city is too lax on landlords (building owners) who violate a 2018 law requiring all apartment buildings in the city to have self-closing doors. Violations of that law have the potential to cost lives, he said. Currently, a building owner with a self-closing door violation on his or her property can simply inform the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) that the issue has been corrected without providing any evidence that the problem has been fixed.
Feliz’s legislative package would require HPD to manually re-inspect any building written up for self-closing door violations within seven days. If the re-inspection determines that a violation has not been rectified, HPD would dispatch city workers to fix it, bill the building owner for the repair costs and also impose a financial penalty on the owner.
While Feliz said an amount has not been set for the fine, he hopes it will be “substantial enough” to deter landlords from ignoring these violations. In addition, the law will also increase the maximum fine from $250 to $1,000 for building owners who falsely tell HPD that they have repaired a self-closing door.
The Bronx fire was sparked by a malfunctioning space heater in a second-floor apartment. Two doors in the building failed to close as designed allowing smoke and flames to spread through the building.
Property Owners’ Responsibilities
New York City laws require property owners and/or property managers to provide, install and maintain smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in each unit. The devices should also be maintained and remain in good working order.
When a fire is caused by negligence (carelessness) or a lack of property maintenance, the property owners and/or property managers may be held liable for the injuries and loss of life that occurs. Injured victims or families of deceased victims can file a premises liability claim against the responsible parties including, but not limited to, the property owner, property manager, maintenance/repair company, etc.
Injured victims in such cases can seek compensation for damages including medical expenses, lost income and benefits, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc. Families that have lost loved ones can file a wrongful death lawsuit seeking compensation as well.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in a fire or explosion, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys with 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. For 50 years, our skilled attorneys have established a proven track record of assisting injured victims. One of our clients — a hot water burn victim — secured $750,000 in damages from the property owner and manager.
Our firm also obtained a $985,000 settlement out of a $1 million policy for two people who suffered smoke inhalation injuries because the homeowner did not have smoke detectors installed and the $15,000 that was left on the insurance policy was for a person that we did not represent. Another client recovered $2,500,000 due to a faulty space heater. 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
Source: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-nyc-council-oswald-feliz-fine-landlords-defective-self-closing-doors-20220117-zdft2auj5za7hhd22av2oow6zi-story.html