Crane Accidents

NEW YORK CITY CRANE ACCIDENT LAWYER

CRANE ACCIDENT STATISTICS

In a city with as much high-rise construction activity as New York City, crane accidents pose a serious threat of injury or death to construction workers, and it is important to understand why they occur-both to prevent them from happening and to assist the victims in pursuing fair financial compensation for their injuries. A 2008 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Crane-Related Occupational Fatalities, states that in the year 2006 there were a total of 72 deaths caused by crane accidents. Of these, 42% were the result of being struck by a falling object including the crane load, while 20% were suffered in falls, 11% involved being caught in or compressed by equipment, 10% occurred in incidents involving transportation, and 8% were the result of electrical injuries.

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS FOR PREVENTING CRANE ACCIDENTS

The Center for Construction Research and Training has recommended a number of precautions for preventing crane accidents, factors which may be used to isolate the cause of your accident. These include:

• Ensuring that no one operates a crane without proper safety training and certification
• Training and testing the riggers who are responsible for attaching the load to the crane, as well as signalpersons
• Posting a well-trained inspector to examine all the machinery and equipment before and during each use, to find any defects or potential mechanical breakdown before it causes injury or death
• Prevent untrained personnel in assisting in the assembly or breakdown of the crane
• Prohibiting crane loads from being carried over traffic, even going so far as to close down the street if necessary

Finding proof of violations of any of the above may serve to establish negligence and fault for your crane accident. Whether you have suffered catastrophic injuries or if you want to sue for the wrongful death of a loved one in a crane collapse, contact us at Greenberg & Stein, P.C. for an initial consultation to discuss the situation and take the first steps toward recovering a settlement.