New York apartment complex accident: baby killed, mom injured

Many residents of New York City live in apartments, which are typically either rented or leased from landlords. Although a tenant may be responsible for some aspects of the apartment, all of the communal property of the apartment building falls under the realm of a “premises.” If an individual is injured while on the premises of the apartment complex, that individual could be able to file a premises liability claim against the landlord.

A young mother and her infant were involved in a fatal apartment complex accident while the mother was pushing the baby in a stroller. Around 11:45 a.m., the elevator doors opened on the 23rd floor of the building, and the mother walked into the elevator. However, the elevator car was stuck between two floors below them, and the two fell into the elevator shaft.

The two fell several feet before landing on the car’s roof. The mother’s weight crushed the infant to death. The 21-year-old distraught mother said that she did not notice that the elevator was not there at the time the doors opened. Instead, she just pushed her 6-week-old daughter through the doors, investigators said. This Coney Island apartment building is riddled with violations, 45 of which are, in fact, directly related to its elevators.

To have a valid premises liability claim, there are a few standards that must be met. First, either the individual or institution against which a victim is planning to file a claim must have owned the premises when the accident occurred. Second, the victim must have been permitted to be on the premises of the apartment complex when the accident occurred. Third, it must be proved that a form of negligence occurred. When an individual’s case meets these three criteria, he or she can consult an experienced New York personal injury attorney to further establish the validity of the proposed claim.

Source: New York Post, “Baby in stroller falls to death down elevator shaft“, Kenneth Garger, Tina Moore and Gabrielle Fonrouge, Oct. 13, 2016