s

Tag Archives: negligent maintenance

October 21, 2013 News
0

Increase in New York City train accidents, injuries and deaths

New York – A recent report by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) notes a significant increase in subway and train deaths. Citizens and commuters in the city’s busy transit system have been hit and killed on the train tracks 65 times as of the end of the summer. The number of accidents and deaths has continued to rise since then according to reports. Transportation safety groups fear that this may be an increase that won’t stop unless something is done to prevent further accidents, injuries and deaths. They demand that more be done in way of safety barriers, accident prevention training and proper maintenance. The administration responsible for the safety and health of the people using the subways as well as the workers has looked into possible methods of preventing accidents and even suicides by people getting hit by a train. Unfortunately, according to some sources, the MTA administration has refused to install more safety barriers, fences and railings due to cost. Public advocates have countered that the safety of the public must be the primary concern and the administration must worker harder to find the necessary money. They warn that this type of accident prevention is just as important as the need for continued fixing of broken or faulty equipment. Negligent maintenance is something that also needs to be addressed in order to prevent some of the accidents in the subways, on the tracks and on the train platforms. Experts explain that broken steps, cracked sidewalks or hallways as well as damaged handrails must be fixed without delay. Unfortunately, sometimes these simple hazards are not fixed quickly or properly. Some of these dangerous conditions are just left with a line of yellow construction tape around them, poorly warning bystanders about the true dangers. The fast pace of the public transit system leaves citizens dodging these safety hazards on a constant basis. This can easily lead to a trip and fall accident that leaves the victim injured and confused as to what even occurred.

This past Wednesday saw another pedestrian struck and killed by a train, this time on Long Island. This train accident is still under investigation in order to determine why the pedestrian was hit. Another accident occurred on the tracks in Brooklyn, when a blind man fell off the platform. Luckily a maintenance worker helped save the victim by pulling him back up. Find out more about that near subway accident here.

Photo by Adam J. Sporka at en.wikipedia (Transferred from en.wikipedia) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

August 11, 2013 News
0

Manhattan woman falls from apartment balcony

New York — A woman fell from the porch of her 16th floor apartment on the East Side of Manhattan, NY. The fall victim was reported to have been leaning on the railing when it broke away and caused her to plummet off the balcony. Reports show that after falling, she landed on the scaffolding of a construction site below, causing fatal injuries. Ambulance and rescue crews responded to the scene and tried reviving the woman from her accident injuries. Unfortunately, their efforts were unsuccessful in resuscitating the injury victim from a traumatic cardiac arrest. Trauma specialists believe the woman died of internal bleeding from the fall. They note that this type of fall may have caused a head injury with skull fracture but further testing will be necessary to determine if that was the case here. Investigators subsequently arrived on the scene to determine why the railing collapsed. According to building inspectors, the railings and balconies of New York City’s high-rise buildings are required to undergo safety inspections on a regular basis. Records show that this specific apartment building did file a safety inspection report for their porches and terraces. Accident investigators will now need to determine if the inspector missed a hazardous condition that led to the railing breaking under the woman’s weight. In the meantime, building department officials have warned residents to stay off of the balconies of their apartments until they are properly inspected according to current safety standards. Certified inspectors should personally investigate the safety of all aspects of the balcony and rails. Landlords are responsible to repair or replace any broken hardware or masonry in a timely fashion. A top accident lawyer in New York explains that the owner and management company may be held responsible for injury or death in a case of negligent maintenance. Read more about this deadly fall accident here.

Photo by Werner Vermaak (originally posted to Flickr as Immobilized Patient) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

July 23, 2013 News
0

Amusement park accident involving dangerous roller coaster

A woman suffered a deadly fall from in a roller coaster accident this past week according to media reports. Investigations into the cause of her falling in the accident are ongoing but witnesses believe that the safety bar was broken. One bystander reported that the accident victim complained about the restraint system, saying that the mechanism wasn’t working properly just before the roller coaster car left the station. According to a specialist who inspects amusement park rides, safety issues and deaths like this most often occur when someone is negligent or makes a mistake. Community activists warn that better staff training and safety warnings are needed to prevent injuries or wrongful deaths at fairs and parks. Some worry that park owners don’t take safety seriously unless someone gets hurt or killed. Local safety advocates say that there are similar dangers lurking in the parks and fair grounds of the New York and New Jersey area. They note that local and state laws need to be scrutinized to make sure that public safety is maintained to the highest standards and to prevent accidents and injuries on rides like this. Various methods should be employed to prevent hazardous conditions that can lead to a fall or other accident. These include proper design of the rides, skilled installation of the machinery, vigilant inspections of the equipment according to manufacturer specifications and regular preventative maintenance. In addition, to prevent human error, extensive initial training and ongoing refresher training is needed for all workers involved with the rides. What concerns some observers in this serious accident is that the victim herself complained about the ride’s safety harness possibly being broken but no one inspected it before starting the ride. Some have questioned if this constituted negligence and whether or not negligent maintenance was involved. You can read more about the safety of amusement park rides here.

Photo by NeoUrfahraner (Self-published work by NeoUrfahraner) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons