Matawan Elevator Repairman Gets $5.8M Settlement After Fall

MATAWAN, NJ — An elevator mechanic from Matawan who fell while modernizing an elevator in 2009 was awarded $5.825 million last week from the owner of the Queens apartment building where he was working when he fell.

Charles Eastwood, 59, of Matawan, was awarded the amount on June 27, after a jury in New York Supreme Court in Queens found the building owner negligent. Eastwood fell eight feet after a landing gave way while he was working in the building's elevator room.

Eastwood had retained Brach Eichler, a law firm based in Roseland, NJ, and sued Woodner Properties and Metro Management Development Corp. That is the owner and managers of Carlyle Skyline Towers, a 16-story apartment building in Flushing, Queens, the Asbury Park Press reported.

In December 2009, Eastwood was working in the building's elevator motor room, making improvements to modernize the elevator. He was above the building's roof, and had just stepped onto a landing to walk down a staircase to the rooftop. But when he stepped there, the top step broke under the weight of his foot, the APP reported.

Eastwood fell eight feet down the staircase and landed on the roof below. He suffered serious injuries to his lower back and knee, requiring five surgeries. However, he is still unable to work, his lawyers said.

At trial, a jury found that the building manager had not properly maintained the staircase that gave way.

The settlement is paid by insurance companies for Woodner Properties and Metro Management Development Corp.

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