The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a $28,000 fine against United States Elevator Inc. for a fatal accident that occurred around 10 a.m., on Aug. 15, 2014. A 25-year-old maintenance worker who was working on an elevator in an apartment building was killed during the accident.
According to OSHA’s report, the Fairfield elevator company allegedly failed to properly evaluate the workplace and did not have proper procedure guidelines in place at the time of the accident. The man was reportedly crushed to death by the counterweights of the elevator after the doors shut and the elevator began descending while he was performing some maintenance work on the elevator at the New York Avenue Apartments. The 15-story building hosts 150 apartments that are rented by individuals that are disabled or elderly.
A resident of the apartments, who was a witness to the accident scene, reportedly stated that the elevators in the apartment building had been need of repair for quite some time and that the elevator system had allegedly long been a problem over the six years he had lived there. The four violations on the citation issued by OSHA categorized each of the violations as being serious. This type of violation carries a $7,000 fine, totaling up to the $28,000. The elevator company reportedly is in the process of contesting the citation.
Individuals who have lost a family member due to the negligence of a company may have valuable legal rights and could potentially be entitled to compensation for the loss of their loved one.
Source: Press of Atlantic City, “Company fined $28,000 in Atlantic City elevator accident that killed worker,” Lynda Cohen, April. 16, 2015