A Manhattan parking garage employee was injured in an elevator accident after he got stuck in an elevator shaft. According to a news report in the New York Post, the incident occurred at the Townhouse garage at 177 East 73rd Street between Third and Lexington avenues. The worker was caught in between floors and injured his leg, a parking garage manager told The Post.
Dramatic Rescue
FDNY officials said the attendant was pinned from the waist down in the elevator
shaft of the parking garage elevator car lift until the department’s technical rescue workers freed him. The 46-year-old worker was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
To rescue the victim the FDNY sent members into the elevator car through an open hoist way door and cut holes through the sides of the metal elevator car with an electric saw as another car was hanging precariously from the floor above. Firefighters were able to secure the vehicle and the elevator car as they worked to free the worker who “went in and out of consciousness” as they began to cut the door. Elevator inspectors and officials with the New York City’s Department of Buildings were on the scene. The investigation is ongoing. We are relieved to note that the victim did not suffer critical injuries. We wish him the very best for a quick and full recovery.
Responsibility of Property Owners/Managers
Residents, guests as well as repair men and mechanics at New York City buildings have been frequently injured or killed as a result of malfunctioning elevators/escalators. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that an estimated 27 people die nationwide in such incidents each year. About half of the fatalities involving 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.
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. 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 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://nypost.com/2022/06/11/nyc-parking-garage-employee-hurt-after-elevator-shaft-fall/