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New York Crane Construction Accident Leaves Seven People Dead

By Altman & Altman

Six construction workers and a Florida tourist died in a construction accident on Saturday after a crane collapsed at a construction site in New York. 10 other people were injured.

The construction site was at a 43-year-old building that had already received multiple safety violations. On Tuesday, investigators were trying to determine whether the nylon webbing, worth $50, broke while lifting a large piece of steel.

The 200-foot crane fell while construction workers tried to attach a large, 12,000-pound square steel collar around the tower of the crane at the 18th floor of the building, located on East 51st Street. They were applying manual winches that seemed to be hanging from nylon slings that were hanging from a higher part of the tower.

The collar, winches, and slings fell, crashed into another collar at the ninth floor, and landed on a third collar located close to the bottom of the construction site. The tower then collapsed, leveling a nearby building and damaging other nearby properties.

According to Paul S. Zorich, chairman of the committee on crane and sling safety standards of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, photographs of the sling show that it could have been ?grossly overloaded.?

Construction safety experts say that these slings usually can carry loads as heavy as several tons unless they are worn or damaged.

Steven R. Dewey, president of All-Lifts, a company that makes construction slings, says sling failures only occurs if they are damaged or cut. He also said that slings are manufactured to carry five times the indicated weight.

Joy Contractors is the company overseeing the crane work at the site.

Construction accidents can often lead to catastrophic if not deadly injuries. Construction workers injured on the job cannot sue their employers for recovery. They are, however, eligible for workers? compensation benefits and they may be able to claim damages from third parties, such as the manufacturer of a defective product or another party that is found liable for the injury accident.

Injured parties that are not construction workers may be able to claim damages from the construction company or other parties associated with the project if negligence can be proved. The best way to do this in Massachusetts is to retain the services of a Boston, Massachusetts personal injury law firm that is experienced in dealing with construction accident cases.

Even if your employer guarantees you workers? compensation benefits, one of our Boston, Massachusetts workers? compensation attorneys can make sure that you receive all of the benefits you are eligible for in a timely manner.

Failure of Strap Is Suspected in Crane Collapse, New York Times, March 18, 2008

Seven dead in New York crane accident, BBC News, March 16, 2008

Related Web Resource:

A Review of Crane Safety in the Construction Industry

Full post as published by Boston Injury Lawyer Blog on March 20, 2008 (boomark / email).