Another broken elevator, another young boy injured

Tuesday, 12 May 2009

A seven-year-old Bronx boy broke his leg in an elevator accident yesterday while trying to escape from the car he was stuck in, the Daily News reports.

Milton Apolinaris was on his way to visit a friend at the six-story Hunts Point Avenue building when the elevator jammed, trapping him between the third and fourth floors. Milton panicked and tried to escape, jimmying the door open and crawling out onto the third floor. Unfortunately, he got stuck part of the way through while "his feet were on the fourth floor and his body was on the third."

Neighbors responded to the boy's cries for help and kept the elevator from restarting until paramedics and fire fighters arrived. The rescue workers formed a human chain and pulled Milton out of the shaft to safety.

He was transported to Lincoln Hospital for treatment of his broken leg.

New York personal injury lawyers have witnessed a real rash of elevator accidents in recent months. From Jacob Neuman's tragic fall to the many lapses of the New York City Housing Authority, elevator accidents have become a serious concern for New Yorkers.

Though it seems New York City is aware of its problem elevators (the elevator in this accident had been cited on poor maintenance nine times in the last 18 years), there is a disconnect between citations and enforcement. The city must address this issue and ensure that it follows up on inspections instead of merely issuing a citation and leaving it at that.

Parents can do their part, too, and teach their children that if they are stuck in a broken elevator the best thing to do is ring the alarm and wait for help. In the last year, one young boy was killed and another injured while trying to escape jammed elevators.

Of course, elevators should be maintained in a way that makes this impossible, but in a world where elevators can be dangerous why take the risk?

[ Daily News and Channel 7 via Gothamist]