Cranes are an essential but deadly necessity of the construction and manufacturing industries. These monstrous tools lift items weighing thousands of tons and can cause catastrophic accidents when something goes wrong.
In New York City, cranes are often perched on top of high-rises, looming hundreds of stories over workers and civilians below. A piece of falling debris can easily cause a fatal injury from this height, let alone the widespread devastation that a partial or complete crane collapse can cause.
Recent crane accidents in NYC have highlighted a major concern with crane companies not adhering to safety protocols to reduce accidents:
It is astonishing that none of these crane accidents resulted in injuries, but many New Yorkers reported feeling terrified, even traumatized, as they ran for cover or remained trapped in their vehicles witnessing these scenes unfold. Cranes are too dangerous to operate recklessly or to be left unsecured. Owners and contractors have a responsibility to ensure the safe operation of these massive machines. This responsibility includes frequent inspections, trainings, maintenance, and supervision to help reduce the number of unnecessary accidents.
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) estimates approximately 225,000 cranes are in operation across the country on any given day. All crane operators and workers on sites where cranes are used are at risk for crane-related injuries and fatalities, more than 250,000 individuals nationwide.
Several types of crane accidents can put the lives of workers and bystanders at risk.Booms and cranes coming in contact with energized power lines accounted for nearly 45 percent of all crane accidents and are the largest single cause of crane-related fatalities, according to Northwestern Energy. When cranes come in contact with live power lines, all metal surfaces of the crane become energized and dangerous. These types of accidents put the operator and surrounding workers at serious risk of permanent and fatal electrocution injuries.
According to the Konecrane Training Institute, about 74 percent of all crane accidents nationwide occur during routine jobs in construction. Based on OSHA’s reports on overhead crane accidents in a 10-year-period, Konecrane found 249 incidents—133 resulted in injuries, and 133 resulted in fatalities.
The crane accidents involving a worker being crushed by a load resulted in 33.8 percent of all fatalities reported in the 10-year-period. Incidents involving workers who were crushed or run over by a crane resulted in the highest rate of fatal injuries, showing only a 7 percent survival rate.
Sadly, the Konecrane study also found approximately 838 OSHA violations that were committed among the 249 crane accidents evaluated. Had these violations been corrected prior to these accidents, it’s possible that hundreds of lives could have been saved.
OSHA identifies several red flags that can predict when a crane accident may occur:
Construction sites that wish to operate cranes must use caution and extreme measures to help keep their workers safe. Because most crane accidents occur in urban environments, these companies must also consider the danger they are posing to the general public, taking additional safety precautions to prevent accidents.
The following are OSHA guidelines employers and workers should be following to help reduce crane-related accidents and injuries:
For more information on crane operation and safety, visit the OSHA page on compliance directives for cranes and derricks in construction.
The majority of crane accidents are 100 percent preventable with the proper training and care. At the law firm of Pazer, Epstein, Jaffe & Fein, we have been fighting for New York City workers and victims of unnecessary construction accidents for over 60 years. If you or a loved one has sustained a serious construction injury, our knowledgeable team of accident attorneys is here to help.
Contact us using our convenient online form or feel free to phone us in New York at 212-227-1212, or in Huntington/Long Island at 631-864-2429.
Feuerherd, Ben. “Glass falls from NYC building that had recent crane accident.” New York Post. (Retrieved March 3, 2021) https://nypost.com/2020/11/17/glass-falls-from-nyc-building-that-had-recent-crane-accident/
Burke, Kerry. “Debris plunges from Midtown NYC skyscraper and spins around in remnants of Hurricane Zeta wind.” Daily News. (Retrieved March 3, 2021)https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-manhattan-crane-collapse-20201029-zi2p6ozhnvavtpvil7ezrpcfve-story.html
“Crews respond after arm of crane breaks at 31-story building in Brooklyn.” ABC 7. (Retrieved March 3, 2021)https://abc7ny.com/crane-collapse-brooklyn-greenpoint-arm/10331056/
“New Crane Safety Study Reveals Frightening Statistics”. Konecranes Traning Institute. (Retrieved March 3, 2021)
“Crane and Hoist Safety.” OSHA Archive. (Retrieved: September 6, 2019) https://www.osha.gov/archive/oshinfo/priorities/crane.html
“Overhead Power Line Safety for Contractors.” NorthWestern Energy. (Retrieved: September 6, 2019) https://www.northwesternenergy.com/docs/default-source/documents/safety/overhead_safety_brochure
“Compliance Directive for the Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard.” Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (Retrieved: September 6, 2019) https://www.osha.gov/enforcement/directives/cpl-02-01-057
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