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An elevator in Chelsea dropped three floors, injuring 22 construction workers inside. Investigators believe a defective brake is to blame. The elevator was also being used improperly, according to news reports.
At 7am on West 19th St. in New York City, the elevator dropped in a free fall from the fourth to the first floor. One construction worker claimed that a critical cable had snapped prior to this event, without the elevator operator having noticed.
Nine of the workers required immobilization and further care at Beth Israel Hospital. The other thirteen workers sustained less serious injuries and were taken to Bellevue Hospital.
Still, the workers were thankful that their injuries were not nearly as damaging as they might have been.
The Department of Buildings investigated and determined that the cause of the crash was improper use of a freight elevator, which means it was illegally being used to transport people. Additionally, the elevator's brake was defective.
Authorities immediately closed the elevator down. The building's owner has been issued a violation for not having maintained the elevator properly and for allowing its illegal transport of passengers.
As a practicing accident and personal injury attorney in New York, this case is instructive for work-related accidents. This case involved two errors in one, using a cargo elevator transport people and two, having a cable snap.
If you would like more information about how negligence and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.
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