David Sait, 69, had previously had three back operations and was awaiting further surgery before the fall on Saturday afternoon.

He said the malfunctioning lift at the seven-storey unit block at 34 Market Street – which has a history of breaking down for weeks at a time – did not draw level to the first floor landing.

‘’You expect that when the doors of the lift open that the floor of the lift will be level to where you are standing,’’ Mr Sait said.

‘’However the floor was raised up a few inches and when I tried to walk in I ended up face down in the lift.

‘’Because of my back problems and the pain I couldn’t get up and was stuck there for 15 minutes yelling and banging on the floor until a neighbour came to help.’’

The neighbour took a photograph of Mr Sait as he lay prone in the lift awaiting paramedics, to show Housing Trust management the extent of the problem.

Mr Sait said ‘’countless’’ complaints about the lift had been made over the years, but residents’ concerns were being ignored.

‘’My wife and I have been here for 4 1/2 years and we love it here but I couldn’t count how many times the lift has broken down,’’ he said.

‘’I was put on the first floor because of my back, but there’s residents who are in wheelchairs or use mobility devices on higher levels who can’t leave their units when the lift is out of order.

‘’In my opinion the Housing Trust doesn't care – you would have thought they would pay to fix the problem so it doesn’t keep costing them money.’’

Mr Sait was forced to retire at 55 from his 25-year career on the railways due to back problems. After the fall, he was transported to Wollongong Hospital where he was treated and later released.

‘’I was given valium to relax my back muscles as they’d tightened up so much from the fall, and pain medication for the injuries to my back, shoulder and knees.

‘’I feel really annoyed and angry because I was already waiting for another spinal fusion and this could have ruined me. I feel like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck.’’

The Market Street Housing Trust complex has a history of lift failures.

There’s two seven-storey adjoining blocks – each with just one lift to cater for the elderly residents. 

Residents claim there’s been countless breakdowns. The Mercury reported on their concerns in March 2013, and again in May 2015, when many were stuck in their units after the lift broke down for weeks at a time.

Housing Trust CEO Joan Ferguson confirmed Kone had the maintenance contract for the lifts.

‘’There was an incident at the end of January and a report was made at 5.30pm and Kone was onsite within half-an-hour and fixed the problem within 90 minutes. 

‘’We’ve commissioned work around what options we have around these lifts.

‘’The appraisal of these options is advanced.’’

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