City Finds Fault With Maintenance Company in Deadly Elevator Accident
The blame for the elevator accident death of advertising executive Suzanne Hart rests with the maintenance company who had worked on the elevator just minutes before the tragic accident, according to the city’s Department of Buildings and the Department of Investigations. As a result, the city has suspended the license of that company, Transel Elevator, and is seeking to have it revoked.
On the morning of December 14, 2011, repair workers finished their work on elevator nine at 285 Madison Avenue. They left the building at 9:55 a.m. At 9:56 a.m. Ms. Hart began to enter elevator nine and was pinned between floors when the elevator lurched upwards. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the NY Times, the elevator repair workers made three mistakes, mistakes which ultimately caused the elevator accident and Hart’s death:
- They failed to re-enable a safety circuit after they had completed their work. This circuit had been bypassed for their maintenance work to be completed.
- They did not call the Buildings Department for an inspection before putting the elevator back in service.
- They failed to post notice that the elevator was being worked on.
Had the safety circuit been re-enabled, there is a good chance Ms. Hart wouldn’t have lost her life in an elevator accident that morning. Continue reading
Elevator Maintenance Company Named In Multiple Lawsuits
The attorneys at Omrani & Taub have been following and posting updates on a case regarding a young advertising executive who was killed when trapped by the elevator at her Manhattan office building. Transel Elevator, Inc., the company who was servicing that same elevator only hours before her death, was named in an unrelated lawsuit this week, regarding yet another elevator accident, this time at the New York’s Plaza hotel.
According to Bloomberg, a housekeeper at the hotel was injured in an elevator accident when the freight elevator she was on came to a sudden stop. The unexpected and “violent” stop is being blamed for fractures in one of the housekeeper’s feet. Transel Elevator, Inc. is said to have been responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the elevator and all of those at the Plaza.
This latest suit is said to mark one of many that have been filed against the company for elevator accidents around the city. The company works in construction, maintenance and repair of both commercial and residential elevators. Continue reading
Criminal/Civil Cases Possible in Elevator-Death
A criminal investigation has been launched by the Manhattan District Attorney in the tragic elevator death of an advertising executive at Y&R. Suzanne Hart was killed when the elevator at Y&R’s Madison Avenue headquarters crushed her between the first and second floors on December 14.
Initial reports said there were no “safety issues” when the elevator was last inspected in June, 2011. But Tony Sclafani, a spokesperson for the Department of Buildings, said that there were many violations issued in the past but all were for “administrative or non-hazardous conditions.” In the aftermath, 11 violations were written against the building’s 13 elevators.
According to the New York Post, the only violation written against the elevator that killed Ms. Hart, was one regarding problems with paperwork. Other, “more serious” issues were found on the 25-story building’s other elevators. Continue reading
New York elevator accident continues to affect workers
We have been following the story of the Dec. 14 elevator accident that took the life of a New York woman. The woman had stepped onto the elevator at the exact moment in which it spontaneously began to rise, trapping the woman between the bottom of the elevator and the ceiling of the floor above.
The premises liability tragedy has affected many more people than just the woman and her family. We often forget that accidents such as these generally do not occur in isolation. There are more often than not many witnesses to these events, especially in New York City. Continue reading
UPDATE: New York elevator firm sued after fatal accident
In a prior post, we reported the news that a woman had lost her life on a New York elevator on Dec. 14. The woman had stepped onto the elevator at the same moment that it spontaneously began to rise. The 41-year-old woman was crushed between the floor of the elevator and the ceiling above.
Almost immediately after the fatal accident occurred, there was speculation as to whether or not faulty repair work was to blame for causing the accident. An inspection report had been conducted on June 16, 2011 which noted that there was a “defect found” although it was unclear as to what the defect referred to. Continue reading
NYC Executive Killed in Elevator Accident – Premises Liability or Tragic Accident?
Last week a New York City advertising executive was killed moments after she got her foot stuck in an elevator. The elevator she was boarding in the lobby suddenly malfunctioned and with a burst of speed shot upward before the doors closed. She was pinned between the elevator cab and the wall. Electrical experts say that any number of electrical problems could have caused this tragedy. The law firm of Omrani & Taub, P.C. will be following this incident to discover more information as an investigation gets under way.
In another story, an elevator repairman was criminally charged when a woman was seriously injured in an elevator accident last Christmas. According to court papers, the repairman disabled a safety switch that was supposed to prevent the elevator’s movement while the door is open.
Although not as common as motor vehicle accidents, elevator accidents occur more often than people think. Malfunctions such as doors closing on a person, sudden acceleration, free fall of the elevator car down the shaft, or a sudden drop can inflict serious injuries to a person. An individual riding an elevator has every right to assume the elevator will not malfunction. The elevator doors should not shut when there is something [or someone] between them. In fact, elevator accidents would not happen if elevators are properly manufactured and installed, and routinely maintained and inspected. As such, property owners are duty-bound to properly maintain and service their elevators to ensure people’s safety.
Any person riding an elevator can fall victim to an elevator accident. If you or a loved one were injured in an elevator accident, you should immediately speak with a personal injury lawyer who is experienced in elevator accident cases. At the Law Offices of Omrani & Taub P.C. our attorneys are experienced in handling elevator-related accident cases. Our attorneys have the right expertise and resources to investigate the circumstances surrounding your accident, and aggressively represent your right to attain the maximum compensation you deserve.
New York elevator accident claims life of one woman
Building owners have a duty to keep their premises safe, whether it is by ensuring that floors are not slippery, sidewalks do not have protruding cracks and that basically everything on the property is kept in a safe condition. It is unclear at this point whether it was faulty repair work or something else that caused a New York elevator to unexpectedly rise this week, crushing a woman’s body between the shaft wall and the elevator floor.
The 41-year-old woman lost her life as a result of the injuries she sustained in the accident on Wednesday morning. There were two other passengers on the elevator at approximately 10 a.m. when it began its un-signaled ascent. The two other passengers did not appear to have serious physical injuries, but were immediately treated for the trauma that was caused when they saw the woman crushed in front of their eyes. Continue reading