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Maryland Fall Accident?: Police Probe Death of Man Discovered in Trash Chute

By Jack Lebowitz, Esq. and Vadim Mzhen, Esq.

An autopsy conducted on the body of a man found in a downtown Baltimore apartment building trash chute indicates his injuries are ?consistent with a bad fall,? says the police department and reports the Baltimore Sun. Also, police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi says that if another person had inserted the body into the chute, there would have been ?more signs {of a struggle} on the body.? Homicide detectives and the state medical examiner are continuing to investigate his death.

Building employees found the man's body on Thursday morning. According to police, the man seems to have fallen into the chute from around the 20th floor. The 26-floor building, located on N. Charles Street, houses offices and apartment units.

According to ex- and current tenants, each of the building?s trash chutes have a spring mounted door that must be pulled. The chute opening is approximately 3 feet high by 2 feet wide. It opens at an angle. One resident says that he usually must ?push a little? to get a regular-sized garbage bag to go through the chute opening.

Trash Chute Accidents
In the event that someone falls through a garbage chute because it was poorly designed or faulty in some other way, the injured party may have grounds for a Maryland products liability and/or Baltimore premises liability. Property owners must make sure that there are no hazards on the premise that could cause serious Baltimore personal injuries.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that someone has been injured from falling down a trash chute. In February, a 38-year-old man accidentally fell into his apartment complex trash chute. According to the county coroner, the man was trapped upside down in the chute for a long time and died from suffocation. Last year, another man died after falling down a narrow garbage chute. He was drunk at the time.

Police: Man found dead in trash chute may have fallen, Baltimore Sun, August 13, 2010

Central IL man's trash chute death an accident, KMOV, February 5, 2010

Jersey City man plunges 25 stories to death down NYC trash chute, NJ.com, April 13, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Products Liability, Nolo

Premises Liability, Justia

Contact our Baltimore premises liability law firm so that we can help you explore your legal options.

Full post as published by Maryland Accident Law Blog on August 16, 2010 (boomark / email).