Latest news with #HitoshiNikaidoh
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Health
- Irish Daily Mirror
Doctor beheaded in lift accident as colleague watches in horror at hospital
A colleague was left in shock as a doctor was beheaded by a lift in a horrific hospital accident. Hitoshi Nikaidoh, 35, was entering a second-floor lift at Christus St. Joseph Hospital, in Houston, Texas, the US, when the doors abruptly closed, trapping his shoulders. His head was severed when the lift ascended. A hospital worker witnessed the terrifying incident and spent approximately 20 minutes trapped inside the lift with the surgical resident's body before firefighters could rescue her. According to hospital spokesperson India Chumney Hancock, the woman who saw the horrifying tragedy was treated in the hospital's A&E department. Harris County medical examiners conducted an investigation into the incident and police stated that maintenance crews had serviced the lift earlier in the week. The entire bank of lifts stopped operating while the investigation took place. Dr Niakaidoh was born in Japan and relocated with his family to Connecticut as a child. He graduated from the University of Texas-Houston Medical School in June 2003, following his father's path into the field of surgery, reports the Mirror. The investigation discovered a single extra wire was the cause of the accident in lift 14 where Dr Nikaidoh lost his life. If the lift had been correctly configured, only a single wire, not two, would have been connected to one of the numerous controller studs in the elevator control system. The vacant space would have allowed the sensors to operate properly and the victim would have been freed without any harm done. Whilst the mispositioned wire was deemed the primary cause of Nikaidoh's death, worryingly, it was just one of several instances of negligent maintenance work on Elevator 14. In his investigation into the lift, Chief Elevator Inspector Ron Steele from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation discovered no less than 22 code violations. The lift was also a month late for its yearly inspection. Fire House reported lifts and escalators kill approximately 30 and injure around 17,100 individuals each year in the United States, according to data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Historical records attribute the construction of the first elevator to the ancient Greek engineer and inventor Archimedes. It is thought he created a rudimentary design using hemp rope and manual power in the year 236 B.C.. Since then, the design and technology has advanced and while lifts are seen today as a relatively safe mode of transport, problems still occasionally occur. According to Crieff Law Firm, only one in 12 million lift journeys is estimated to encounter a problem. Even then, the majority of those problems tend to be issues like sticking doors and forgetful buttons. The law firm stated that statistically speaking, you are far more likely to be injured or killed by a slip and fall accident on a set of stairs than by a ride in a lift.
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Record
Colleague watches in horror as doctor decapitated by hospital lift
Dr Hitoshi Nikaidoh, 35, was killed in a gruesome elevator accident at Christus St. Joseph Hospital in Houston, Texas, US, after the lift moved upward and severed his head A colleague was left traumatised after witnessing a doctor being decapitated by a lift in a horrific hospital accident. Hitoshi Nikaidoh, 35, was entering a second-floor lift at Christus St Joseph Hospital in Houston, Texas, when the doors abruptly closed, trapping his shoulders. His head was severed as the lift ascended. A hospital worker witnessed the gruesome incident and was trapped inside the lift with the surgical resident's body for approximately 20 minutes before firefighters could rescue her. According to hospital spokesperson India Chumney Hancock, the woman who saw the horrifying event was treated in the hospital's emergency room. Harris County medical examiners launched an investigation into the incident, and police reported that maintenance crews had serviced the lift earlier in the week. The entire bank of lifts was shut down while the investigation took place. Dr Niakaidoh, originally from Japan, moved to Connecticut with his family as a child. He graduated from the University of Texas-Houston Medical School in June 2003, following his father into the field of surgery. The investigation found that a single extra wire in elevator 14 was the cause of the tragic accident that killed Dr Nikaidoh, reports the Mirror. If the lift had been correctly configured, only one wire, not two, would have been connected to one of the many controller studs in the elevator control system. This would have allowed the sensors to function properly and the victim would have been released unharmed. However, the misplacement of the wire, which was identified as the main cause of Nikaidoh's death, was just one of several examples of negligent maintenance work on Elevator 14. During his investigation into the lift, Chief Elevator Inspector Ron Steele from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation discovered no less than 22 code violations. The lift was also a month overdue for its annual inspection. Fire House reported elevators and escalators cause approximately 30 deaths and injure around 17,100 people each year in the United States, according to data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Historical records attribute the construction of the first elevator to the ancient Greek engineer and inventor Archimedes. It is believed he created a basic design using hemp rope and manual power in the year 236 B.C.. Since then, the design and technology of elevators have evolved and while they are seen today as a relatively safe mode of transport, issues still sometimes arise. According to Crieff Law Firm, it's estimated that only one in 12 million lift journeys encounter a problem. Even then, the majority of these issues are typically minor, such as sticking doors and unresponsive buttons. The law firm highlighted that statistically, you are far more likely to be injured or killed by a slip and fall accident on a set of stairs than by a ride in a lift.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Doctor decapitated by lift in hospital accident as colleague watched in horror
A hospital employee was treated for shock after witnessing the death of a colleague who was decapitated by an elevator A colleague was forced to watch on in horror when a doctor was decapitated by a lift in a gruesome hospital accident. Hitoshi Nikaidoh, 35, was stepping into a second-floor elevator at Christus St. Joseph Hospital, in Houston, Texas, the US, when the doors closed suddenly, and pinned his shoulders. His head was severed when the lift moved upward. A hospital employee witnessed the horrific ordeal and spent about 20 minutes trapped inside the lift with the surgical resident's body before firefighters could rescue her. According to hospital spokesman India Chumney Hancock, the woman who witnessed the horrifying tragedy was treated in the hospital's emergency room. Harris County medical examiners carried out an inquiry into the incident and police said maintenance crews had worked on the lift earlier in the week. The entire bank of elevators ceased operation while the investigation was conducted. Dr. Niakaidoh was born in Japan and moved with his family to Connecticut as a child. He graduated from the University of Texas-Houston Medical School in June 2003, following in his father's footsteps into the field of surgery. The investigation found a single extra wire was the cause of the accident in elevator 14 where Dr Nikaidoh was killed. If the configuration of the lift had been correct, only one wire and not two would have been connected to one of the many controller studs in the elevator control system. The empty space would have enabled the sensors to function properly and the victim would have been released with no harm inflicted. While the misplaced wire was ruled as the predominant cause of Nikaidoh's death, alarmingly, it turned out to be only one of several examples of negligent maintenance work on Elevator 14. During the course of his investigation into the lift, Chief Elevator Inspector Ron Steele of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation uncovered no fewer than 22 code violations. The lift was also a month overdue for its annual inspection. Fire House reported elevators and escalators kill about 30 and injure about 17,100 people each year in the United States, according to data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Historical records credit the first elevator being constructed by the ancient Greek engineer and inventor Archimedes. It is believed he created a crude design utilizing hemp rope and manual power in the year 236 B.C. Since then, the design and technology has evolved and while elevators are seen today as a relatively safe mode of transport, issues still sometimes arise. According to Crieff Law Firm, only one in 12 million elevator rides is estimated to encounter a problem. And even then, the majority of those problems tend to be issues like sticking doors and forgetful buttons. The law firm stated that statistically speaking, you are far more likely to be injured or killed by a slip and fall accident on a set of stairs than by a ride in an elevator.
