New York City Elevator Accident: Who Is at Fault?

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.

Each year, approximately 27 people die in elevator accidents in the United States. While this number pales in comparison to those killed in auto accidents, most of these deaths could -and should - have been prevented. According to a former elevator consultant, accidents such as the New York City elevator accident are "almost always a case of human error."

Now, the Buildings Department will need to determine what caused the New York elevator accident so that the proper parties can be held liable by the state as well as by the victim's family. The cause may be linked to the electrical maintenance and to the workers who performed the maintenance on the elevator. Workers do not need a license to work on elevators, which means they may lack the proper training needed to keep elevators safe.

Fault may also lie with the elevator manufacturer (if there were defective elevator parts), the building or the elevator maintenance company. There were 14 reported and open violations against elevators in the building where the accident occurred. Furthermore, the company that maintained the elevator, Transel Elevator Inc., was the company involved in the last fatal New York City elevator accident in September.

Source: New York Times, "Elevator Was Serviced Just Before Accident," Cara Buckley, Dec. 15, 2011