Elevator maintenance company implicated in injuries

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An elevator maintenance company in nearby New York has now been implicated in a recent injury and also a fatality. In both instances, the same company was in charge of maintaining and repairing the elevators at premises where the injuries occurred. In recent weeks, a Manhattan advertising firm employee was killed in an elevator that was being serviced. In a 2nd accident that occurred in 2011, an individual was injured when the freight elevator she was in began a rapid descent and ended in a "sudden and violent stop." Unfortunately, the company has also been implicated in a number of other accidents as well. In 2007, a man fell into an elevator shaft and fell 20-feet to the concrete floor. Another woman was injured because of the "trap-like" conditions of the elevator. One of the above accidents was at a site that was a part of a $400 million restoration project in a building that was purchased for $675 million back in 2004. Though the elevator maintenance company stressed that elevator safety was its top priority, undoubtedly the company was also making a great deal of money in the contracting of its services. Yet with the profits that came along with their services, it would not have been difficult for the company to foresee the possibility of the injuries that took place at the various locations and implement a safety protocol to prevent these types of accidents from occurring. Most injuries of this type occur suddenly with catastrophic consequences. These injures can result in medical expenses, loss of wages, expenses for additional services and unnecessary pain and suffering. Source: Bloomberg Businessweek, "Elevator Firm in Fatal N.Y Accident Sued Over Plaza Injury," by David McLaughlin, Dec. 30, 2011