Brooklyn: 718.531.9700 | Manhattan/Long Island: 212.696.4LAW
Toll-free: 855.HELD.HINES | Email: info@heldhines.com

New York Post: Injured Worker

  • Posted on:
  • By:

New York Post: Marc Held, Partner, Held & Hines, LLP Quoted Re: Injured Worker
Residents support porter whose legs were chopped off by subway

By Josh Saul and Tina MooreOctober 26, 2015 | 5:34am

Residents support porter whose legs were chopped off by subway
Hector Vasquez-Cruz in the hospital where he is recovering from a tragic accident that cost him his legs.
Photo: J.C. Rice
A man who lost both his legs when he was hit by a subway train earlier this month is finding out he was more than just another employee at the swanky Upper East Side building where he worked as a porter.
Residents and even other workers such as nannies at The Somerset on York Avenue near East 73rd Street — where apartments rent for more than $7,000 a month — have rallied around the badly maimed 30-year-old Bronx man.
Modal Trigger
Hector Vasquez-Cruz
A notice about Hector Vasquez-Cruz’s Oct. 16 accident was posted in the elevator and residents have since sent him cards — many with checks for between $20 and $500.
“To me, he’s not just a porter, he’s a really good friend,” said 10-year-old young resident Daniel Kraskin.
Nannies who work for the building’s well-heeled residents say they plan to visit Vasquez-Cruz at Lincoln Hospital, where he is recuperating.
Modal Trigger
Vasquez-Cruz’s parrot, Pikachu
Vasquez-Cruz doesn’t know how he ended up on the tracks at the Hunts Point station at around 3:30 a.m. He said he got off work at 11 the night before, but because he lost so much blood in the accident, the rest is a blur.
“I remember waving at the train when I was down on the tracks,” he said. “Just that image, it’s like nightmare.”
He said he also misses his pet parrot, Pikachu, whom he hasn’t seen since he left work the day before the accident.
“I love her so, so much,” he said.
But “my main focus is, don’t worry about the legs and keep going forward, because I want to go back to work,” he said from his hospital bed.
“Life is a struggle, and at the end of the day, whether it’s the best day or the worst day, you still got to deal with it. So that’s what I’m doing. I’m just trying to deal with this as calmly as possible.”
His lawyer, Marc J. Held of the firm Held & Hines, said the unions representing transit workers have asked the MTA to improve subway safety in part by having trains enter stations at slower speeds.
“Had the MTA followed these recommendations, Hector would be at work today instead of in a hospital bed recovering from unspeakable injuries,” Held said.

Areas of practice

  • Board of Education Abuse/Neglect
  • Breach of Contract Cases
  • Broker Commission Disputes
  • Civil Rights
  • Class Actions
  • Closings
  • Condominium & Cooperative Representation
  • Construction Accidents
  • Corporate Formation
  • Defamation & Slander Cases
  • Defective/Hazardous Products
  • Dog Bites/Animal Attacks
  • Employment Law and Misclassification
  • Gig Economy
  • Ice/Snow Cases
  • Insurance Company Bad Faith Claims
  • Knockdown Bicycle Cases
  • Landlord & Tenant
  • Liquor / Tobacco / Lotto Licensing
  • Medical Malpractice
  • Membership / Shareholder Agreements
  • Motor Vehicle Accdients
  • Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect
  • Pedestrian Knockdown Cases
  • Personal Injury
  • Premise Liability
  • Prisoner’s Rights
  • Real Estate Broker Commission Disputes
  • Real Estate Closings
  • Real Estate Litigation
  • Refinances
  • Rideshare: Uber and Lyft
  • Sale of Business
  • Slip & Fall Accidents
  • Trademarks
  • Wrongful Death
The owner of this website has made a committment to accessibility and inclusion, please report any problems that you encounter using the contact form on this website. This site uses the WP ADA Compliance Check plugin to enhance accessibility. Skip to content