Professional Experience
- 2001 to Present – Kevin J. Doherty & Associates Inc. – President of an elevator consulting firm specializing in elevator safety code compliance and litigation.
- 1994 to Present – New Jersey Licensed Elevator Safety Code Enforcement Administrator & Inspector – I oversee the administration and safety code compliance of approximately 800 public elevators in various New Jersey municipalities. My responsibilities include the inspection of both older and newer elevators equipped with the most current elevator industry technologies.
- 1980 to 1994 – I.B.E.W. Local Number 3 Certified Elevator/Escalator Journeyman Mechanic – Repaired, maintained, and modernized high-rise cable and low rise hydraulic elevators, as well as various types of escalators in the New York City metropolitan area.
Certifications and Licenses
- Internationally Certified Elevator Safety Inspector (QEI C-1049)
- Licensed New Jersey State Elevator Inspector, NJ Uniform Construction Code 5:23, Hazardous High Rise (HHS) License No. 006028
- Licensed New Jersey State Elevator Sub-code Official, NJ Uniform Construction Code 5:23, Elevator Safety Subcode Administrative License No. 006028
- Nationally Certified Elevator Inspector General 6B
- Building Officials and Code Administrators International Inc. (BOCA)
- Licensed City of New York Private Elevator Inspector, License No. L00043 (retired)
- Licensed State of Connecticut Elevator Installer and Repairer, License No. 00450691 (retired)
- Licensed City of Albany, New York Elevator Inspector License No. 023 (retired)
Recent Cases
- 2016 – The Estate of Daryl Gordon, Cincinnati, OH – Represented Plaintiff’s estate. Case involved the death of a Cincinnati firefighter who fell four floors to his death as a result of a defective hoistway door interlock system. Case settled prior to filing in an amount exceeding four million dollars.
- 2016 – Harland M. Lewis v. OTIS Elevator Company, Tuscumbia, AL – Represented Plaintiff. Plaintiff was struck on the head when vertically closing car door gate struck his head without warning causing severe injuries. Case settled prior to trial.
- 2016 – Gloria Roller vs. Guggenheim Real Estate DBA Heights of Collingswood Apartments, Greystar Real Estate Management, KONE Corp, Collingswood, NJ – Represented Plaintiff. Plaintiff was injured as a result of a malfunctioning elevator that caused her to be thrown about the elevator cab for twenty minutes resulting in serious injuries. Case settled prior to trial.
- 2016 - Roger Cornell v. River City Properties LLC, Huntington, WV – Represented Plaintiff. Plaintiff was injured as a result of a hoistway door locking system malfunction. Plaintiff was severely injured when a defective hoistway door opened and he fell fifteen feet into the elevator pit. Case settled prior to trial.
- 2016 – Monroe v. Jones Lang Lasalle Americas, Inc., Richmond, VA – Represented Plaintiff. Plaintiff was injured when the elevator she was entering unexpectedly moved up several inches above the floor level, causing her foot to become wedged between the landing floor and elevator floor. She fell forward and suffered severe injuries. Case settled prior to trial.
- 2016 – Faldudi v. Saint Barnabus Medical Facility, Livingston, NJ – Represented Plaintiff. Plaintiff was injured when the subject elevator arrived at the hall landing and was un-level with the landing floor. Plaintiff fell as a result and suffered severe injuries. Case settled prior to trial.
- 2015 – BCIA v. BRMC L.P., et al, Paramus, NJ – Represented Plaintiff. Plaintiff is a local governmental entity tasked with capital improvements of a publicly owned hospital campus. The Plaintiff alleged fraudulent billing for work performed by an elevator contractor that provided services in the past. Case settled prior to trial.
- 2015 – Vazquez v. Temple University of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education & OTIS Elevator Company, Philadelphia, PA – Represented Plaintiff. Plaintiff was exiting an elevator when it moved unexpectedly and became un-level with the floor, causing her to trip and fall, suffering injuries. Case settled prior to trial.
- 2015 – Kennedy v. KONE, Inc., The Government of The Virgin Islands through The Roy Lester Schneider Hospital, St. Thomas, VI – Represented Plaintiff. Plaintiff was injured when she stepped onto the subject elevator. With the car and hoistway doors still open, the elevator descended in an uncontrolled manner, coming to an abrupt stop at the bottom of the elevator hoistway causing multiple injuries. Case settled prior to trial.
- 2015 – People of the State of New York v. Jason Jordan, Brooklyn, NY – Represented the People of the State of New York. Case involved the severe and permanent injury of an elevator passenger. Working with the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, I conducted a full forensic investigation of the incident. As a result of the testimony I provided over two and a half days, in 2011, a grand jury passed down a five-count felony indictment against the elevator mechanic that had caused the incident. In 2014, the case went to trial, and I provided testimony in connection with the case. As a result, the plaintiff was convicted of 2nd degree (reckless) assault.
- 2015 – Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company v. Ross Elevator Inc., Parma, OH – Represented Plaintiff. Case involved a fire in an elevator machine room. Leaking hydraulic components directly led to the machine room fire. Case was settled prior to trial.
- 2014 – Austin v. Tilden Garden, OTIS Elevator, et al., Washington, DC – Represented plaintiff. Plaintiff was injured on an elevator that had an improperly installed electric eye in combination with a “scissor”-type collapsible car gate. Case settled prior to trial.
- 2013 – Tomoni Shigeta (and her guardian Yukie Shigeta) v. Washington Shoe Company, Bay Area Rapid Transit District, San Francisco, CA – Represented Plaintiff. Case involved the entrapment of a child’s “Crocs” brand footwear between the moving escalator step and the stationary skirt panel that resulted in severe injuries to her foot. Case went to trial and resulted in a deadlocked jury.
- 2013 – Rotondo v. Luna Park Housing Corp., Brooklyn, NY – Represented Defendant. A defective elevator caused the elevator car door to strike and injure plaintiff. Case concluded prior to trial.
- 2013 – Reed v. Nouveau Elevator Industries Inc. and OTIS Elevator Inc., Port Jefferson, NY – Represented Plaintiff. Plaintiff entered the subject elevator. The elevator began descending at full speed and suddenly came to an abrupt stop causing the plaintiff to fall and suffer injuries. Case was settled prior to trial.
- 2013 – Smith v. OTIS Elevator, Winston-Salem, NC – Represented plaintiff. Plaintiff suffered injuries when an elevator came to an abrupt stop while traveling at high speed in the down direction. Case settled prior to trial.
- 2013 – Foster v. ThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas Corp, et al., Dover, DE – Represented plaintiff. Plaintiff suffered injuries from a trip and fall that occurred when an elevator unexpectedly re-leveled with the doors open. Case settled prior to trial.
- 2012 – Bowes v. City of Santa Fe, KONE Inc., et als., Santa Fe, NM – Represented plaintiff. Plaintiff suffered injuries when an elevator came to an abrupt stop while traveling at high speed in the down direction. Case settled prior to trial.
- 2012 – Abdelbaky v. Merit US Real Estate Fund III LP & CB Richard Ellis, Jersey City, NJ – Represented plaintiff. Plaintiff suffered injuries when an elevator came to an abrupt stop while traveling at high speed in the down direction. Case settled prior to trial.
- 2012 – Dudley v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and AVCO Avports Management, LLC, Newark, NJ – Represented Plaintiff. While entering the subject elevator, the elevator car doors closed on the Plaintiff at high speed causing injuries to her shoulder and arm. Case was settled prior to trial.
- 2010 – Didier v. Value Place, LLC et al., Fayetteville, NC – Represented plaintiff. Case involved a passenger that was injured as a result of an improperly installed elevator handrail. The elevator handrail was fastened under tension. The handrail became unfastened and sprang out suddenly, striking the Plaintiff and causing injury. Case settled prior to trial.
Media Appearances
Recent Consultations
- 2011 – Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) – Bear Mountain Inn, Bear Mountain, NY – Consulted on removal of 1915 vintage cable-type elevator and installation of new hydraulic elevator in original hoistway.
- 2009 – Rutgers University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ. (UMDNJ) – Perform forensic evaluation of all site elevators in response to abnormally high rate of passenger entrapments. Our recommendations enacted by UMDNJ led to significant reduction in entrapments and shutdowns.
- 2007 – Province of British Columbia – Evaluated feasibility of proposed elevator self-certification & safety inspection program. Provided report of findings to British Columbia Safety Authority (BCSA).
- 2005 – United States General Services Administration (GSA) – 26 Federal Plaza, New York, NY – For the duration of a 6 month labor dispute (March-Sept. 2005) between KONE Elevator Inc. and IUEC Local No. 1, I was contracted to assume the role of “GSA On-Site Elevator Expert Representative”. My duties were to oversee KONE Elevator Company Replacement Elevator Technicians and the safe & reliable operation of the building’s 54 elevators. My responsibilities included:
- Vetting of all “KONE Replacement Techs” and advising the GSA which individuals were qualified to continue working on–site.
- Attend meetings with KONE management on GSA’s behalf.
- Develop and Oversee a Preventative Maintenance Program.
- Oversee “Additional Billing” requests.
- Determine validity of documented repairs.
Affiliations
- National Association of Elevator Safety Authorities (NAESA)
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
- Elevator Safety Inspectors Association of New Jersey
- Building Officials and Code Administrators International Inc (BOCA)
Education
- 1992 to Present – National Association of Elevator Safety Authorities (NAESA) – Certified attendance at 20 eight hour professional seminars
- 1992 to Present – New Jersey Department of Community Affairs – Certified attendance at 33 eight hour professional seminars.
- 1995 – Bergen County Community College – NJ State Elevator Administrator Course
- 1992 – Bergen County Community College – NJ State Elevator Inspector Course
- 1988 to 1991 – International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers: I.B.E.W. Local No. 3 – Completed 6 Certified Journeyman Continuing Education Courses
- 1983 to 1987 – International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers: I.B.E.W. Local No. 3 – Completed four year NY State Department of Education Certified Apprentice Training School
Legislation Authored
- 2007 – Township of Hanover, NJ – Authored legislation regulating emergency communication systems in elevators
Advisory Roles
- 2010 – Town of Harriman, NY Building Department
- 2008 – Town of Orangetown, N.Y. Building Department
- 2006 – Town of Wallkill, N.Y. Building and Fire Safety Departments
