Personal Injury Law

Crane collapses not as rare as one might hope.

By Steve Lombardi

San Franciso, CA - A 300-ft tower crane collapsed onto the intersection of two major streets in downtown San Francisco during the morning rush hour. The accident fatally injured four crew members on the crane and a bus driven on the street below. Twenty-two pedestrians were also injured by falling crane pieces or flying debris.

Seattle Washington - "The biggest issue for discussion was probably the number of operator hours that should be required for operator certification on different types of cranes," Fischer said. To be considered qualified, according to the law, a crane operator must have up to 2,000 hours of experience -- a maximum that has been challenged by many in the industry as unworkable. Legislators enacted the law in the wake of several alarming crane incidents late last year. After a 210-foot-high crane collapsed in downtown Bellevue, killing a man in his nearby apartment and severely damaging three buildings, structural problems were found in several more cranes operating in the Seattle area. A six-month L&I investigation found that the collapsed crane's steel base was to blame. Tower cranes, which are used for construction on skyscrapers, are normally installed in concrete. The Seattle engineering firm that designed the foundation, Magnusson Klemencic Associates, was fined $5,600.

Lower Manhattan, New York - Authorities say they fear a secondary collapse, and the evacuations include both residential and commercial buildings.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - A circuit court jury Friday awarded $99,250,000 in damages to the widows of three ironworkers killed in the Miller Park crane collapse in July 1999. In a unanimous verdict, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of America was found to be 97% negligent and Lampson International Limited only 3% negligent. The three ironworkers were killed when the Big Blue crane dropped a 450-ton roof piece while lifting it in high winds on July 14, 1999.

Bellevue, Washington - November 2006 - Apparently, the crane came down as the operator was "putting it away." The operator survived and was able to walk away...he was taken to a hospital. No other construction workers were injured. My friend found the crane operator from a nearby construction site who witnessed the crane coming down from his own crane cab.

Hong Kong, China - Crane collapse in Causeway Bay, July 10, 2007 Hong Kong.

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on February 06, 2008 (boomark / email).