Woman Killed by Falling Debris in Manhattan

A prominent architect was killed when debris from a building fell on her on the morning of Dec. 17, the New York Daily News reported. The accident happened in the Times Square section of New York about 10:47 a.m. near her midtown office. The building, a 17-story edifice at 729 Seventh Ave., had been cited for failure to maintain the terra cotta outer wall, which posed a falling hazard for pedestrians. The city approved plans for work on the facade in November, but the repair still hasn’t started. The Daily News reported that the building had several other outstanding building violations, including failing to fix a broken elevator.

The victim, Erica Tishman, 60, was vice president of the project management firm Zubatkin. She graduated from both Harvard and Princeton, and previously managed her own firm, which designed the Jersey City Trump Plaza residential tower. Along with her husband, Steven Tishman, she was a philanthropist, funding the Education Alliance, a local community outreach organization on whose board she had previously served.

A building owner has the legal responsibility to ensure that their building is not a safety hazard. Municipalities have developed extensive building codes to prevent tragedies like the one that happened to Tishman and have intentionally made it very expensive to be out of compliance with them. Some building owners, however, choose to gamble with the safety of the public, delaying repairs to save money. When an accident occurs as a result of their negligence, they are responsible for paying damages. Despite this, building owners try to deny victims the compensation they are owed, and injured people may need to fight in court. When this happens, having an experienced attorney on your side is crucial to winning all of the money you deserve. At Morgan & Morgan, we have spent over 30 years fighting for the victims of negligent business owners. If you have been injured, you may be entitled to compensation. To determine your options, fill out this free case evaluation form.