Blind Man Falls Four Floors Down Elevator Shaft in L.A. Low-Income Housing Building

A blind man fell four floors down an elevator shaft at a five-story residential hotel for low-income individuals in Los Angeles, Fox 11 was among outlets to report on May 9. The man is expected to survive. The incident was captured on video, which was posted online as part of a lawsuit against the building’s owner, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). AHF told the source it won a legal ruling against the building’s previous owner, and that it has spent more than US$6 million renovating the property — including US$600,000 on elevator repairs — since acquiring it in 2018. An attorney for AHF said “the real story should be the efforts AHF makes to keep the elevator running and to fix it as quickly as possible when it goes out.” An L.A. Housing Department spokesperson said the department cannot comment directly on AHF properties, but that it “routinely inspects all residential hotels and responds the same day or the next day for urgent complaints.”