New York Elevator Accidents

The average life-span of elevators before they need major upgrading is 20 to 30 years. Even though the state of New York is residence to some of the most highly qualified, experienced, and trained elevator mechanics, serious injuries are common due to elevators’ failure to operate properly and in a safe manner.

Riding an elevator is an activity most people simply take for granted. Elevators are used in buildings where people work, in hospitals and universities, and in many residential buildings.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), elevator accidents claim an average of 30 lives each year. Additionally, 17,000 people are injured each year across the country in accidents in or around elevators.

Not all elevator accidents involve those who use elevators each day. Many accidents occur among workers who clean or maintain elevators. Some fall into elevator shafts for example.

In other instances people who simply use elevators every day for transport between floors of buildings may be caught between the elevator doors or stuck between the elevator itself and the elevator shaft.

The most deadly accidents involve people falling through the shaft itself. If there is a mechanical failure and elevator doors open when the actual elevator car has not yet reached the floor, people may step into what they assume is an elevator as an automatic response to the opening of the doors, but if there is no car present, they then fall into the elevator shaft. Serious injury or fatality may then ensue.

• All elevators should be regularly inspected and should pass all safety inspections.
• Elevators should further be checked routinely by the management for any irregularities in their operation in order to discover potentially hazardous mechanical problems.
• Elevators should undergo proper preventative maintenance.
• Adequate signs should be posted by building management warning elevator passengers of potential dangers.
• All elevators manufactured must be thoroughly tested before going to market, being purchased and installed.

New York Times reporters have reviewed records showing that nearly 300 residents, employees, and visitors of buildings maintained by New York City’s public housing agency have reported being injured in elevator-related accidents since the year 2001.

Complaints from residents are frequent regarding what one would expect: elevators that do not work making people late for work or school or forcing them to cancel medical appointments because they have health issues preventing them from using multiple flights of stairs.

Even more serious though, malfunctioning elevators have taken a painful physical toll on residents and visitors as well as workers in New York City’s 340 public housing complexes.  Over 170 people were treated at hospitals or by private doctors, paramedics, or firefighters for injuries sustained to hands, feet, arms, backs, legs, heads, and knees.  Records disclosing these injuries were released by the New York City Housing Authority as a response to a Freedom of Information request by the New York Times.   

During the time frame 2001 through 2007, $3.5 million were paid as the end result of judgments and settlements in elevator-related personal injury lawsuits.

Almost 200 incidents involved inner or outer doors which malfunctioned by closing too forcefully or too quickly, especially for children and the elderly. 

During a one-month time frame in 2008, four people at four separate complexes had to be transported to hospitals because of elevator-related injuries.

One elevator-related injury case in particular was that of a home health aide who stepped into an elevator at the Sedgwick Houses in the Bronx.  She was there to visit a patient who lived on the fifth floor.  The elevator was an out-dated model that had an outer door which was supposed to swing shut and an inner door that slid to close.  Another elevator passenger exited the elevator on the third floor, the outer door stopped short of closing, and the home health worker was stranded.  She grabbed hold of the edge of the door to try to close it, but there was no inside handle present.  The door slammed into her hand, and her finger was trapped between the door and the elevator frame.  She lost the tip of her finger to the end joint when her finger was sliced by the malfunctioning elevator door.

New York City law requires each elevator to be inspected five times over a two-year time span.  In most privately owned buildings in the city, private companies or contractors perform these needed inspections.

Elevators malfunction and cause injuries like the one described above or even worse life-threatening injuries.  The elevator itself may stop in an unleveled position between floors.  The elevator may start and stop or suddenly speed up.  Doors may fail to open and close smoothly and slowly.  The elevator may fail to appear even though the outer door opens.  The elevator may experience generator or cable failure and fall.

• Obtain names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers of witnesses to the accident.
• Take down the elevator’s serial number and any information you can retrieve about the company that manufactured the elevator.
• Record any available inspection data including the date of the most recent inspection posted.
• Use your cell phone camera to take pictures of the elevator doors, inspection certificate or any other information which identifies this specific elevator.
• In writing, report the incident to building management and take a copy of this report with you.

Contact the Manhattan Personal Injury Lawyers of the Schwartzapfel Partners, P.C. Our team of committed, dedicated attorneys will exceed your expectations through aggressive legal representation.

We will fight for you!

Call us at (877) 625-4473, or complete our online contact form for a free consultation.

These Hubs are provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Professional legal counsel should be sought for specific advice relevant to your circumstances.