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New York Personal Injury Lawyer Comments on Elevator Accident

It happened again! According to the Associated Press (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jQN4WE1L4hK-4jS7fvnILCfKmx-gD97TO8L00), a 67-year-old blind man plunged 25 feet down an elevator shaft to his death in his Bronx apartment building when the doors opened, but no elevator car was waiting when he stepped inside.

Based on several news reports, said David Perecman, founder of the Perecman firm with attorneys focusing on elevator accidents (http://www.perecman.com/elevator-accident-attorneys-new-york.htm) in New York and who has handled many premises liability cases personally in his 30 plus years of practice, in my opinion, there appears to be little doubt that the accident and wrongful death (http://www.perecman.com/elevator-accident-attorneys-new-york.htm) is the fault of building management and possibly even the company that services the elevators in the dead man'ss building.

According to officials at the scene, Sheldon Scott lived in a third floor apartment and was on his way to the store when the accident happened.

With most elevator accidents, Perecman explained, the issue for the courts in New York usually comes down to proving that the injury to the plaintiff was a result of negligence on the part of the people responsible for the care and upkeep of the elevator.

But in this case, should Mr. Scott'ss family seek legal redress in New York for wrongful death, he added, there may be no need to prove negligence.The court uses a doctrine known by its Latin name, 'sRes ipsa loquitor,'s the act speaks for itself, which in this case seems obvious. A blind tenant waiting for an elevator, the elevator doors open, but the elevator cab isn'st there and the man falls down the elevator shaft to his death. The act speaks for itself.

Neighbors of Mr. Scott said the elevator in the 10-story brick building had been under repair for three weeks due to defective doors.

When elevators malfunction, Perecman said, elderly and disabled tenants suffer the most. But the city code, which requires proper maintenance of elevators, is the same for the elderly and infirm as it is for any other tenant.

Furthermore, Perecman said it seems very unlikely under the circumstances that Mr. Scott did anything to tamper with the operation of the elevator.

Courts could hold a tenant responsible for their own injury, Perecman said, If the tenant somehow pried open the jammed door, or is found to have tampered with the safe operation of the elevator in some other way.

New York Personal injury lawyer (http://www.perecman.com/elevator-accident-attorneys-new-york.htm), David Perecman advised city residents to report defective elevators, accidents, or other unsafe conditions in their buildings, to The New York City Housing Authority. Brooklyn residents should call: 718-649-6400; Bronx residents: 718-409-8626; in Manhattan: 212-427-8542; in Queens and Staten Island: 718-657-8300.

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