New York Elevator & Escalator Accident Lawyers
If you were injured while performing a repair on an elevator, our NYC elevator accident lawyers know that you can sue the building owner under Labor Law 240. While Labor Law 240 is usually used for construction accidents, it applies to all repairs of a building including elevators and elevator shafts. New York’s Labor Law 240 requires that workers who are conducting repairs at dangerous heights, including in an elevator shaft be provided with adequate fall protection. Labor Law 240 also requires that workers be protected from falling objects, which are in the process of being hoisted. This includes an elevator. Our Manhattan elevator accident lawyers have decades of experience in handling accident cases all over New York City including Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.
Can I Sue if My Husband Died from Falling in an Elevator Shaft
Elevator Fatality Cases
If your husband died while performing construction or a repair in an elevator shaft call our New York wrongful death lawyers today. Our attorneys know that the law requires that proper fall protection be provided to elevator repairment and if you were injured in a fall in an elevator shaft of if your husband or father died from a fall, while performing construction or a repair in an elevator shaft, then you can sue the building for wrongful death. In a wrongful death suit, you can recover all of the financial support that your loved one would have provided throughout the course of their life. Consultations with our NYC wrongful death accident cases are always free.
Elevator Personal Injury Cases
If you were injured while performing a repair of an elevator, you need an experienced personal injury lawyer who handles elevator and escalator accident cases. Our New York City elevator repairman injury lawyers, have decades of experience in representing people who sustained injuries in elevator and escalator accidents.
Death Statistics for Elevator Repairmen and Construction Workers in Elevator Shaft Accidents Are Staggering
Incidents involving elevators and escalators kill about 30 and seriously injure about 17,000 people each year in the United States, according to data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Elevators cause almost 90% of the deaths and 60% of serious injuries. Injuries to people working on or near elevators – including those installing, repairing, and maintaining elevators, and working in or near elevator shafts – account for 14 (almost half) of the annual deaths. Half of the deaths of workers working in or near elevator shafts were due to falls into the shaft. Incidents where workers were caught in/between moving parts of elevators and escalators, are in or on elevators or platforms that collapse, or are struck by elevators or counterweights are also numerous.
Elevator installers and repairers, also called elevator constructors or elevator mechanics, were by far the largest occupation affected, accounting for 36% of the deaths during work on or near elevators (see fig. 2). The main causes of death for elevator installers and repairers was being caught in/between elevators and elevator shafts or other elevators, followed by falls, being struck by objects (mostly elevators), and collapses (also mostly of elevators) (see fig. 1).
Although elevator installers and repairers are divided roughly equally between construction and general industry, about 80% of the deaths in this group affected employees of construction contractors.
For years, industry standards have been recognized that when properly utilized prevent injuries and fatalities. Industry standards that prevent elevator- and escalator-related deaths and injuries include :
- De-energizing and locking out electrical circuits and mechanical equipment when elevators and escalators are out of service or being repaired
- Establishing a permit-required confined-space program for elevator shafts
- Providing fall protection during work in or near elevator shafts.
- Employers have an adequate inspection and maintenance program
When construction workers and elevator repairmen are injured in elevator accidents, it is usually because these industry standards were not followed.
Our Law Office Locations
Our Midtown Manhattan Law Office is walking distance from Penn Station, the Path train and the 6 train. We are across the street from the iconic Empire State Building and half a block from Herald Squre.
Our NYC Office
18 West 33rd Street
Suite 400
New York, NY 10001
Law Office of Michael H. Joseph, PLLC
The Law Office of Michael H. Joseph, PLLC, has been helping injured victims recover compensation for their injuries for over 25 years. Our attorneys are members of several prestigious organizations, including:
- New York State Trial Lawyers Association
- American Association for Justice
- New York County Bar Association
- Westchester County Bar Association
To request your free initial consultation with our team, call our New York City office at (212) 858-0503 or our White Plains office at (914) 574-8330. You can also request a case review online.
