Personal Injury Law

Three Contractors Fined In Fatal New York Crane Accident

Federal officials have slapped three contractors with fines totaling $313,000 for safety violations which they say led to the March 15 crane collapse on E. 51st Street that killed seven people. According to an article in the New York Daily News, officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) determined that a web sling used to haul parts of a large-sized crane ripped open causing the fatal construction accident.

The biggest portion of the penalty -- $210,000 ? is to be paid by Rapetti Rigging of Massapequa, Long Island. This company has been accused of numerous infractions including failing to inspect the crucial web slings that set off the crane collapse. Two other contractors who paid the fines were Reliance Construction Group and Joy Contractors Inc. Among those who died in the fatal crane collapse accident were six workers and a woman in a nearby building.

Every year hundreds of crane operators and construction workers are catastrophically injured or killed on the job in construction site accidents or crane collapse accidents. These injuries and deaths occur in spite of state and federal regulations and industry standards which require owners, general contractors and sub-contractors to adopt and implement a variety of safety measures. Workers? compensation benefits are by no means sufficient to fully compensate injured workers for all damages sustained as a result of their work-related accident.

A majority of crane related accidents in New York occur because of crane instability, lack of communication and lack of training. If you or a loved one has been involved in a crane accident in New York, please call Wingate, Russotti & Shapiro, L.L.P. to schedule a free consultation and find out more about your legal rights.

Full post as published by New York Injury Talk Blog on September 13, 2008 (boomark / email).