New York Personal Injury Law Blog

The New York City Department of Buildings and Department of Investigations have determined that a disabled door safety circuit contributed to the elevator accident that killed Suzanne Hart in December.

The elevator lurched upward abruptly while Hart was stepping onto the elevator, trapping her between the elevator and the elevator's shaft. If the door safety circuit was enabled, this New York City elevator accident would likely not have occurred, according to officials from the departments.

Two construction contractors were injured after a semi truck hit a bridge in the Bronx on Monday. The contractors were inspecting the overpass when the truck's trailer separated from the truck, causing it to fall onto their car and pin them inside.

According to new sources, the truck was not supposed to be on the bridge when the New York City truck accident occurred. It was too tall for the bridge. The truck driver and two contractors were injured (at least one critically) and the truck caused some damage to the bridge.

According to the New York City Buildings Department, the elevator that crushed a 41-year old woman on Wednesday morning had recently been serviced. Only hours before the New York City elevator accident, workers had performed electrical maintenance on it. That maintenance is now the center of the Buildings Department's investigation.

The victim was pinned between the elevator and shaft wall when the elevator she was stepping into unexpectedly rose. She was crushed to death.

Park Avenue in Brooklyn is well known to residents and authorities alike. Sadly, though, its notoriety is due to its dangerousness. And, one intersection in particular, Park Avenue and Hall Street, is receiving extra attention from the New York Times' The Local blog.

According to Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Gastel, an average of four New York City car accidents and four injuries occurred per year between 2005 and 2009 at the intersection. Whether the accidents are occurring because of speeders on Park Avenue, impatient drivers waiting to cross Park Avenue on Hall Street, or some other reason, most agree that something needs to be done to prevent them.

One construction worker has died and four others were injured when a building they were working on collapsed under the weight of concrete that had been recently poured onto the third floor. The accident occurred in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 8.

Although this accident is tragic, it is unfortunately not rare. New York City construction accident lawyers know all too well that the city's construction workers regularly face the risk of injury or death on the job site.

In early October, a Hannibal man was killed in a New York industrial accident while working at Novelis, Inc., an aluminum rolling plant. The man, a rolling technician, was trapped in a piece of equipment he was operating. He was stabilized at the hospital, but later died from his injuries.

This accident was the second workplace accident in only three months at the plant. It follows a serious on-the-job accident in August, when a man was injured in the plant's remelt area.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the company are currently investigating the August and October accidents. It may be months before we learn of the cause of the New York workplace injuries, as OSHA inspectors must go through extensive discovery to determine if Novelis, Inc., violated any safety regulations or otherwise acted negligently.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is hoping to issue new Hours of Service rules by the end of this month.

According to the FMCSA, truck driver fatigue is likely a factor in 5.5 percent of fatal large truck accidents. It is believed that the percentage of fatigue-related accidents can be reduced by decreasing the amount of time drivers spend behind the wheel and on-the-job. As New York City truck accident attorneys, we often see the devestating impacts of truck accidents and understand the value of any safety measures meant to prevent accidents and save lives. 

On October 18, 2011, a New York bus-and-truck crash injured eight people. The accident happened on the New York State Thruway, approximately 35 miles outside of New York City. According to the accident report, the Trailways bus rear-ended the truck after the truck slowed down for a car entering the highway.

This is one in a tragic series of bus accidents that have plagued New York and the East Coast this year, including:

• A July crash between a semi truck and tour bus in Waterloo, which injured more than 30 people
• A March tour bus accident in the Bronx that killed 15 people
• A March tour bus accident in New Jersey that killed two people
• A May tour bus accident in Virginia that killed four people
• A June tour bus-and-semi truck accident in Pennsylvania that killed the bus driver and injured more than 20 people
• A July New York tour bus crash that killed two people and injured 35

These accidents have prompted legislators in New York and in the United States Congress to call for safer buses and better bus driver training.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, "8 Injured in Crash Involving Bus, Truck," Associated Press, Oct. 19, 2011.