An electrician was fatally injured in an elevator accident in Hell’s Kitchen after he became trapped in the lift when the building’s power was turned off. According to a news report in the New York Post, the worker died while prying the door open with his hands and trying to squeeze through the 1-foot opening. Police said the 53-year-old man was found hanging out of the door in the building at 555 10th Avenue, a new 52-story residential building. The victim died from asphyxiation.
Based on the news article, he was working at the location, but was stranded in the elevator when the power was shut off. He then tried to exit through the opening and onto the fifth floor. The power to the building was shut off, which was what likely caused the elevator to stop, officials said. The New York City Department of Buildings issued a cease-use order on the elevator. Officials say they are investigating the cause of this fatal elevator accident. A charter school reportedly controlled the part of the building where the accident occurred.
Fatal Accidents Involving Elevators
According to the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, there were 244 deaths in the 12 years between 1992 and 2003, about 20 per year, related to elevators and escalators. Of these, 173 involved work on or near elevators and 68 of those killed were elevator passengers – people entering or riding in elevators while at work. The 173 deaths related to work on or near elevators (about 14 per year), were most often caused by falls into elevator shafts (about 49 percent).
Elevator installers and mechanics were by far the largest group that was affected, accounting for 36 percent of the deaths during work on or near elevators. The main causes of death for elevator installers and repairers was being caught in/between elevators and elevator shafts or other elevators, followed by falls, being struck by objects and collapses.
A majority of the deaths also involve those who work for construction contractors. In fact, construction elevator installers and repairers have the sixth-highest rate of work-related deaths of all construction trades. Those killed working on or near elevators were involved in three types of activities, with 54 percent of the deaths involving installation or repair of elevators.
It is important for workers to have adequate job and safety training before commencing work at construction sites that utilize elevators. If workers are operating near elevator shafts or around elevators, they must be provided with proper fall protection devices such as harnesses and guardrails, nets, etc. Construction company owners, managers, supervisors and others in charge of the construction site need to ensure that elevators used for the construction activity are in good working condition and don’t pose a danger to workers. Workers injured in elevator accidents may be disabled for life and lose their ability to earn a livelihood.
Compensation for Workers
In such cases, injured workers may be able to seek workers’ compensation benefits provided through their employers. In addition, they might be able to file a third-party claim against a party other than the employer or co-employees and have two sources of compensation available. For example, in an accident involving a malfunctioning elevator, the worker may be able to file a lawsuit against the companies that manufactured, maintained, inspected, repaired, and/or installed the elevator. Other examples of third parties include, but are not limited to, general contractors, sub-contractors, building owners, managers etc.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a construction accident, 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 $3,375,576 for a construction worker (an undocumented immigrant) who was injured on the job – one of the highest construction case settlements in New York that year.
Our law firm also 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.
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 cases in 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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Source: http://nypost.com/2017/07/24/electrician-suffocates-to-death-trying-to-escape-stalled-elevator/