Why Are Elevator Accident Injuries Worth Millions of Dollars to Settle?

There are three reasons injuries from elevator accidents are worth millions of dollars:

1. Elevator accidents usually cause very serious injuries worth millions of dollars.
2. There is usually 100% fault on the landlord, elevator maintenance company, and elevator manufacturer for causing a person to be injured in an elevator accident.
3. Elevators in New York buildings and elevator maintenance companies have enough insurance to pay you millions of dollars for your injury.

The Best New York Elevator Accident Lawyers Are at 1-800-HURT-911®

The best elevator accident lawyers in New York know how to investigate elevator accidents, have the money to litigate expensive elevator accident cases, are not looking to get a quick settlement for your injury and don’t forget about you after getting your case.

Concierge Service for Clients Injured in New York Elevator Accidents

When you’re seriously injured in an elevator accident, we can provide you with our Concierge Service and our Personal Medical Manager. For instance, we may be able to provide you with an aide to go shopping for you or take you where you need to go.

If you need money to pay bills and living expenses, we can get pre-settlement money for you to help you out before your case settles. For instance, you may need money to pay for food and rent so you don’t face eviction.

If you don’t have health insurance or your insurance doesn’t cover enough physical therapy, we can arrange for you to get continuing medical treatment without having to pay anything upfront.

NO Legal Fee for Estate Work for Wrongful Death in NY Elevator Accidents!

If you’re an immediate family member of a loved one who was killed in an elevator accident and who died without a will, a family member needs to be appointed as executor of the estate.

We provide FREE legal services for estate work for wrongful death when someone is killed in an elevator accident, and the family doesn’t have or doesn’t want to spend the money to hire an estate lawyer.

Can You File a Lawsuit if You Witnessed Someone Injured or Killed in an Elevator Accident in New York?

If you saw someone injured or killed in an elevator accident, you may be able to have your own lawsuit because you saw the elevator accident happen.

If you were present at the elevator accident scene, you may be considered to have been “in the zone of danger,” and it may be possible for you to recover money for emotional distress.

For you to be able to have your own lawsuit because you saw someone injured or killed in an elevator accident, elevator accident attorneys in New York must be able to show all three of the following:

1. 1. There was an unreasonable risk of bodily injury or death, which usually is what happens in an elevator accident.
   2. The person who saw someone injured or killed in an elevator accident suffered an emotional injury from seeing the injury or death of the victim, and
   3. The person who saw the elevator accident and the person injured or killed in the elevator accident are immediate family members.

Who Is Financially Responsible for an Elevator Accident?

Usually, the building owner and elevator maintenance company are responsible. It is also possible that one or more companies leasing the premises could be responsible. If any elevator parts were defective, the manufacturer could also be responsible to compensate you for your injuries.

Home Elevator Accidents

Home elevators are responsible for causing many accidents causing serious injury and deaths of adults and especially children. The usual cause of residential home elevator accidents is improper design, improper installation, and improper or lack of maintenance.

People Have Died When a Residential Elevator Didn’t Have a Phone

Some people have died when stuck in a residential elevator which either didn’t have a phone or the phone wasn’t working.

This nearly happened to me when I got stuck between floors in an elevator going down two stories in a nuclear bomb-proof facility that is a backup location for police communications. Fortunately, the phone in that elevator was working because there probably wouldn’t be anyone using that elevator for weeks.

Children Are at Risk of Injury or Death From Residential Home Elevators

Children are especially at risk of serious injury or death from residential home elevators because of their small size. If your child was injured by an elevator, call the best elevator accident lawyers in New York at 1-800-HURT-911® for a free consultation.

Residential elevators may have a small landing space between the interior elevator car door or gate and a door on the frame of the house. Children can become trapped in the space between the exterior landing door and the interior elevator car door or gate and be seriously injured or killed when the elevator is called to another floor.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that the gap between doors is no more than four inches deep. The dangerous landing space can be seen in this photo on the CPSC.gov website.

Private Residential Home Elevators Recalled

Several elevator companies have recalled private residence elevators. Otis and CemcoLift recalled residential elevators purchased before 2012.

Bella Elevator, LLC, Inclinator Company of America, and Savaria Corporation cooperated with CPSC to announce voluntary recalls of residential elevators that pose a danger to children. CPSC is warning consumers to stop using elevators manufactured by Waupaca Elevator Company, Inc. after it refused to cooperate and recall its residential elevators.

How the Cause of an Elevator Accident is Investigated

There are many types of elevator accidents and many different causes, which can lead to different companies being responsible for causing the accident. An elevator expert is needed to write a report detailing the failures which caused the elevator accident and the persons and companies responsible for the failures.

Elevator accident lawyers in New York use these four types of thorough investigations to prove the cause of the elevator accident and identify the people and companies responsible:

1. Investigations are always conducted by Government agencies, and these reports will be available to us. New York City agencies such as the NYC Buildings Department, NYC Department of Investigations, and NYPD will investigate the cause of an elevator accident;
2. Hearings after the accident concerning elevator violations not only turn up evidence of who caused the accident and why. As your elevator accident lawyers, we will attend the hearing and may be able to ask additional questions to uncover additional evidence.
3. As your elevator accident lawyers, we will retain an elevator expert; and
4. A criminal investigation may be conducted by the District Attorney’s Office.

This schematic showing an exploded drawing of elevator parts is provided by an elevator accident expert at Robson Forensic.

Most elevator accidents involve faulty maintenance by the maintenance contractor or a failure to maintain the elevator, but New York and/or NYC laws may have been violated.

When laws regulating elevator maintenance are violated, a criminal investigation may also be conducted and reveal what really happened. The Manhattan DA began a criminal investigation into the Manhattan elevator accident that killed a Brooklyn resident who was an advertising executive.

The investigation looked into possible faulty electrical work done by the elevator maintenance company before the death, The maintenance contractor, Transel Elevator Inc., is a large elevator maintenance company in New York.

The only violation on the elevator car that caused the death was a failure to file paperwork, which would have triggered the need for a follow-up inspection.

For more information about elevator accidents and injuries, see an in-depth report on the causes of injuries and deaths working near elevators and escalators.

Common Causes of Elevator Accidents

• Improper maintenance
• Elevator falls or drops
• Improper movement of the door
• Defective safety guards on doors
• Elevator car stops misaligned either above or below the floor
• Counterfeit parts
• Improper design

Common Injuries Caused By Elevator Accidents

• Wrongful Death
• Decapitation
• Head trauma and Concussion
• Broken bones
• Lacerations and scars
• Permanent disfigurement
• Amputation/loss of body parts
• Psychological trauma

Someone who has been seriously injured may no longer be able to work and may not be able to perform everyday tasks such as taking a bath, eating, shopping, household chores, etc.

When someone has been seriously injured in an elevator accident, we can provide our Concierge Service and our Personal Medical Manager.

We do not charge for legal services for estate work for wrongful death when someone is killed in an elevator accident.

If an Elevator Falls Down the Shaft, Can You Avoid Injury by Jumping at the Last Second?

Jumping at the last second if the elevator falls would not be of any benefit for a number of reasons, but it would be impossible to know when the elevator will contact the bottom floor and time your jump with the elevator crash. See What if You Were on an Elevator and the Cable Broke?

If an elevator begins to fall down the shaft because the cables snapped or broke, a mechanical backup brake will automatically engage, and the elevator should only fall a few feet. The mechanical backup brake does not need eclectic power and will work in the event of a power failure.

Elevator accidents are extremely rare, and some elevator accidents involved an elevator that fell, but most elevator accidents involve a problem with the elevator door. We were the New York elevator accident lawyers for a woman who injured her back in an elevator accident when the elevator fell (see photo above), but the elevator fell only a few feet.

However, there are a few elevator accidents that killed passengers when the elevator fell. See a list of all elevator accidents since 1892.

Call now, If you or someone you know had an elevator accident in New York

Please call the best elevator accident lawyers in New York at 1-800-HURT-911® immediately so we can provide you with our Concierge Service and immediately hire an elevator expert to prove the building owner and elevator company caused the elevator accident.

We’re the best elevator accident lawyers, but you may be looking for the best escalator accident lawyers in New York.

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