Spouse Recovers $2,250,000 on Behalf of Elevator Erector Killed in Construction Accident

Plaintiff was working for SSB Hoist as an elevator erector/maintainer at the site of a new construction project which was taking place at 459 West 18th Street in New York City. At approximately 4:00 PM, the plaintiff was instructed to grease the tracks on the external hoist located on the site. This is a task that normally requires 3 or 4 workers but on the accident date he was doing so alone. The subject hoist had been modified to fit into a tight space and as a result, many of the floors had gaps of nearly 8 inches between the hoist and the elevator edge. In order to eliminate these gaps, there were steel plates welded in, which alleviated this distance. On the date of his accident, the plaintiff was riding on top of the hoist when his head was crushed between the top of the safety railing on the hoist and the steel plate that had been installed on the 4th floor. He was taken to St. Vincent’s Medical Center via ambulance but died a short time later, never regaining consciousness.

OSHA and the NYC Building Department both responded to the fatality and issued multiple violations. Plaintiff would have claimed that the worksite violated various provisions of the New York City Industrial Code, as well as OSHA and ANSI.

The expert economist retained by the Plaintiff would have testified that the economic loss and loss in household services was $3,135, 221, after consumption. The present value of this figure was $2,069,659. There was no proof of any conscious pain and suffering.

The case was handled by Daniel P. O’Toole of Block O’Toole & Murphy.