Construction Site Accidents – Crane Accidents

In the United States, there are over 125,000 cranes in use on construction sites all over the country. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), every year roughly 50 workers are killed in crane accidents and many more workers are seriously injured by cranes on construction sites. The sad fact it that many of these injuries and fatalities could have been easily avoided, as most crane accidents are due to negligence of a worker or due to the lack of safety measures or training provided by the employer. This creates ample opportunity for the injured party to make a legal claim against the negligent parties.

The main causes of crane accidents are varied, but straight forward. The most frequent type of crane accident involves the crane simply coming into contact with electrical power lines and creating an electrical short, a fire or in worst cases electrocution. In fact, 40 per cent of all crane accident deaths are due to electrocution. Other accidents are due to unqualified operators, improper assembly of dismantling of the crane, rigging failure, overloading and overturning of a crane. In many cases, it is not only the crane operator that can be serious injured, but also other workers or even innocent bystanders. Many of these accidents could have easily been prevented, having been caused by poor safety procedures, negligence or defective parts.