There are so many modern conveniences that we take for granted. We don't consider the complexity of machines that make our lives easier, until they break down. In some cases, those breakdowns can suddenly make life more difficult than we ever imagined.

A prime example of this is the case of a popular personal fitness trainer in New York City who was injured in an elevator accident. It was the middle of November when the man stepped into the elevator in the building where he lives and pressed the button for the lobby. The elevator malfunctioned, sending the car into a free-fall before jolting to a stop. Although the experience was extremely terrifying, the trainer didn't realize he was seriously injured until the next day, when he had difficulty walking, which is typical of many spinal injuries.

The trainer's back and neck injuries put him in the hospital for two weeks and he now needs arm braces to get around. But he's also been left with a fear of riding elevators -- a problem for someone who lives on the 26th floor. He now relies on his bodybuilder friends to carry him up and down the stairs to and from his apartment.

The man is suing his landlord and two elevator companies who maintain the lifts. One of the companies happens to also maintain the elevator that crushed a woman to death in December after it rose before she was fully inside. But the man's landlord denies there was anything wrong with the elevator the trainer rode, and argues the man refused medical attention after the incident.

The trainer, who once worked at popular gyms around the city, can no longer work, is behind on his rent and risks being evicted -- all because an elevator accident left him with an injury that brought his livelihood to a grinding halt.

Source: New York Daily News, "Man needs a lift after elevator dips -- lawsuit," Barbara Ross, Jan. 5, 2012