Cranes are a common sight in construction zones throughout New York. These temporary structures allow workers to move items that are too massive for people to lift, especially to higher floors of a structure. While the purpose of a crane is to transport objects safely, they also carry the danger of collapse, placing many at risk of injury. Why does this happen?
Human error and crane collapses
In the first place, nearly every crane collapse is preventable. When a crane falls, it is usually because someone has made a critical mistake at some point. This might include any of the following scenarios:
- Failure to follow assembly instructions
- Damage to crane parts during assembly, disassembly, transporting or storage
- Defective crane parts
- An overloaded crane without adequate torque for the load
- Failure to consider weather conditions, such as high winds
- Failure to stabilize the surface under the crane
- Inadequate room for arms to counterbalance the weight the crane will lift
- Failure to inspect the crane before each use
Since a crane is a portable structure, workers must build it at each construction site then take it apart when the project is complete. This can be a long, tedious process, systematically removing each pin one section at a time. A common shortcut is to remove certain pins early, and this has resulted in more than one devastating crane collapse.
What goes up must come down
Ideally when a crane comes down, it happens in a safe, systematic way. A falling crane, on the other hand, carries the potential for massive property damage, catastrophic injuries and untimely death. Victims of crane collapse accidents want to understand the reason for their suffering. They also have the right to hold those responsible whose negligence may have contributed to their pain and loss.