When a crane collapses at a construction project in Ohio or elsewhere across the United States, it tends to a big deal.
The reasons for that are many and obvious. Cranes can be flatly frightening for their size and weight, with some of them weighing hundreds of thousands of pounds and extending for hundreds of feet. The devastation wrought by a falling crane to human life and property can be substantial, and often is.
That is why the result of a crane crashing into a construction area in New York City this past Wednesday is both notable and fortunate. Despite the crane being as long as a football field — 35 stories in length — and crashing across hundreds of feet of concrete and plywood during work hours when dozens of construction workers were on site, there were no fatalities.
The construction accident did send seven workers to the hospital, with three of them seriously hurt, but authorities say that none of the injuries was life-threatening.
The city has been the venue for other crane crashes of magnitude in recent years. In March 2008, a falling crane killed seven people. Manslaughter charges were brought against a rigging contractor following the accident, but he was acquitted.
And then, just two months later, a crane line snapped during a lift, fatally injuring two people. The company that owned the crane also owns the crane that collapsed this week. Following the 2008 accident, its owner was also tried and acquitted on a manslaughter charge.
Source: New York Times, “Seven injured after crane collapse in Queens,” Marc Santora and William K. Rashbaum,” Jan. 9, 2013
- Construction sites can be dangerous and sometimes deadly work environments. Please visit our Cleveland Construction Accident page for information on our firm and its strong advocacy on behalf of persons who have suffered workplace injuries.