Category: Blog

Even an elevator tragedy didn’t motivate lawmakers

You might recall that on New Year’s Eve, an elevator accident took the life of a young man on the Lower East Side. The 25-year-old was in an elevator when it stalled between the second and third floors of an apparently building.

The man helped a woman get out of the elevator, pushing her up and out. But then the elevator dropped. News reports said the man was crushed between the elevator roof and a building floor.

Yet even that tragedy has failed to motivate lawmakers who have before them a bill that proponents say would make elevators throughout New York safer.

The Elevator Safety Act got some attention from legislators in the wake of the tragedy, but the state’s website says the bill is still in committee, more than 4 months later.

Assemblyman Keith Wright – one of the bill’s sponsors – said, “It is shocking and unthinkable that New York State doesn’t do everything possible to protect the safety of its residents.”

The bill is straightforward, requiring “the licensing of persons engaged in the design, construction, inspection, maintenance, alteration, and repair of elevators and other automated people moving devices.” A spokesperson for the International Union of Elevator Constructors said training is currently required by law, but that the type of training is not specified.

Injuries caused by a faulty elevator or escalator can be devastating, and as everyone saw on New Year’s Eve, those injuries can even be fatal. Families who have lost a loved one can speak with an experienced attorney about pursuit of justice and holding those who are responsible financially accountable.

New rule aims to keep customers safe from carbon monoxide in NY

Whether a grocery store, department store, office complex or hospital, businesses are required to provide those that enter their buildings with a safe environment. There are a number of regulations and ordinances in place designed to help better ensure that patrons are properly protected. The Department of State recently passed an additional measure to offer further protection.

This new measure deals specifically with carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas that can lead to serious problems, and even death, if inhaled. The gas can be detected with carbon monoxide detectors, which set of an alarm when the gas is present, alerting anyone that may be in the vicinity of the potential danger. This specific measure requires that commercial buildings install and maintain carbon monoxide devices.

Is carbon monoxide poisoning really a problem?

The Department of State reports that there are an estimated 450 hospitalizations connected to carbon monoxide poisoning in New York State each year. Of these hospitalizations, 55 result in fatalities.

What types of buildings are included?

The rule requires commercial buildings to comply with the carbon monoxide detector requirement. The definition is broad, requiring both those owned by private parties and municipalities. The rule specifically includes schools that meet certain qualifications but exempts buildings that are “only occupied occasionally and only for building or equipment maintenance.”

When does the rule go into effect?

The rule is scheduled to go into effect in two different waves, depending on the type of commercial building. Those that are considered new construction are required to comply with the rule upon construction. Existing buildings, defined as buildings that were constructed before December 31, 2015, are required to come into compliance by June 27, 2016.

Girl gets $15 million after foot mangled by escalator

The Everly Brothers, Elvis and Perry Como topped the charts back when the escalator was installed in a shopping mall just 25 miles from Queens. The escalator was one of the oldest in the country by the time of an accident three years ago in which a 10-year-old girl’s foot was caught and mangled.

Twenty-two surgeries were required to save the foot from amputation, the girl’s family’s attorney said in a statement announcing a settlement with Macy’s. The lawyer said Macy’s has agreed to pay $15 million to the New Jersey family.

The nearly two dozen operations involved a variety of surgical procedures, including grafts of muscle and skin to the girl’s foot from other parts of her body. She also fought through kidney and lung failure as part of her ordeal.

Following the accident, she was hospitalized for three months and then spent more than two years in physical therapy.

The family filed its lawsuit against Macy’s, as well as the company responsible for escalator maintenance, Thyssen Krupp Elevator Corporation. Though escalators have a life expectancy of 20 to 25 years, the escalator that caught the girl’s foot was in its 55th year of operation at the time of the incident.

For those who have been injured by escalator or elevator malfunction, you should know that a conversation with a skilled attorney can be the first step toward full and fair compensation for damages you have suffered, including medical bills, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, disability and pain and suffering.

Late-night dangers associated with job duties

There are certain occupations that are commonly associated with occupational risks and dangers. Law enforcement, for example, and firefighting are two lines of work that have obvious dangers inherent in the job duties.

Other jobs are also dangerous, though perhaps less obviously so: roofer, logger, pilot and truck driver are typically listed whenever people index the riskiest occupations. Another dangerous job: working in late-night retail.

The risks of robbery, assault, injuries and fatalities are an ever-present part of working at a convenience store, eatery, gas station or other retail outlet open late at night. The problem is a significant one: the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that in 2007, assaults and other acts of violence took 864 lives, which was more than 15 percent of the workplace fatalities that year in the entire country.

The dangers are not just to the workers, of course, but also to innocent customers who happen to be in the store when the violence occurs. Far too often, owners of the establishments fail to implement safety measures that would protect employees and customers.

These safety measures can include:

• Installation and maintenance of security systems
• Training for employees in robbery prevention
• Keeping windows clear of posters, signs and other clutter
• Establishing cash-drop systems and routines to deter robberies

When an employee or customer is injured due to a lack of security measures, they can face enormous medical bills, lost wages, disabilities and extended periods of emotional anguish and physical pain. A conversation with an attorney experienced in premises liability litigation can explain your legal options and help you pursue compensation for damages.

A lack of training and knowledge leads to tragedy

It’s a four hour drive northwest of New York City to arrive in the town of Onondaga. The modestly sized Syracuse suburb was the site almost a year ago to the day of a tragic accident.

A 53 year old man was doing maintenance work on an elevator in a nursing home when a second elevator began to descend from above.

The mechanic was pinned between a stationary steel ladder and a support beam by the second elevator. He died there in the elevator shaft.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed a $35,000 fine for the man’s employer. The Otis Elevator Company is contesting the fine and the accompanying citation which claims the man didn’t have the training needed for the job he tried to perform, and that the company failed to observe safety procedures.

The company didn’t properly evaluate the elevator to see if the maintenance work would require a permit for confined spaces. Worse, the mechanic didn’t have the training or knowledge to enter a permit-required confined space such as the one he died in.

When he was killed, the mechanic was beneath the elevator doing work that required him to first lock the elevator in place and shut off power to it. OSHA says the company has practices allowing its workers to get into elevator pits for up to 15 minutes without carrying out those safety procedures.

The man left behind his wife and two sons. In similar circumstances, family members will speak to attorneys experienced in fighting for full and fair compensation.

The world can change in a moment

It can happen in an instant. Trip and fall accidents often result in serious injuries precisely because they happen before the victim realizes what is happening.

The accidents can happen in a wide variety of ways. One type of trip and fall occurs when a person is walking on a sidewalk to enter a store. One edge of the sidewalk is raised above an adjoining edge, catching the toes of some pedestrians.

Most of those people will stay upright, adjusting quickly and walking on into the store without further problems. But all it takes is for one person to trip and fall on that unforgiving concrete surface. The result can be broken bones, shattered teeth, serious sprains, bruises, bleeding and more.

If the difference in heights between the two adjoining sidewalk surfaces is one-half inch or more, a trip hazard exists. It is then merely a matter of time before an unfortunate person is injured.

Store owners and managers should know about trip hazards on the properties and take steps to fix them. Those kinds of repairs are simply part of the cost of doing business safely in New York City.

It will matter little to the injury victim if the retailer or apartment owner or other business quickly addresses the problem after an accident has taken place. That quick fix won’t take away the victim’s pain and medical expenses.

Property owners have an obligation to keep their premises safe for customers and other members of the public. If they fail to meet their obligations, injury victims have legal options available that can result in compensation.