Crane Accidents

Cranes move heavy loads at great heights. When cranes lack safety equipment or collapse on a job site, the construction workers can suffer catastrophic injuries. If you were injured in a crane accident, your debilitating injuries may prevent you from working as significant medical bills roll in. To protect your legal rights, consult with a Syracuse crane accident lawyer at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano. We may be able to help you seek compensation for the damages you suffered.

Crane accidents can occur in many different ways. Workers may be hit by a load that comes loose from rigging. Workers may be electrocuted if a mobile crane boom touches a power line. Cranes may tip over may cause injuries and fatalities. Crane collapses can occur when cranes are overloaded on unstable surfaces. In complex cases, your lawyer may need to retain an expert to examine the causes of a crane accident so that you can hold all the parties responsible for the accident accountable. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, the potential defendants may include on-site contractors, crane parts manufacturers and distributors, and crane maintenance companies.

New York has enacted special protections for construction workers in the form of Labor Law 200, Labor Law 240, and Labor Law 241(6). Under these laws, you may be able to recover damages from owners and contractors.

Labor Law 200 codifies the duty under common law to use reasonable care in maintaining a worksite. Owners and contractors should operate and arrange the workplace to provide adequate and reasonable protection for the safety of everyone working there or lawfully frequenting the site. Additionally, cranes and other machinery should be lighted, guarded, operated and placed to adequately, reasonably protect those working or lawfully onsite. If you were injured as a result of the failure of an owner or contractor to provide reasonable protections in connection with a crane, a crane accident attorney in Syracuse can help you sue under Labor Law 200. For example, if the boom struck you because the contractor provided inadequate support while you were removing pins from the boom, you may have a claim under Labor Law 200 to seek compensation for the traumatic brain injury and paralysis caused by the accident.

New York Labor Law section 240, also called the Scaffold Law, protects workers in connection with gravity-related accidents. Under this law, owners and contractors involved with the erection, demolition, repairing, altering, painting, cleaning or pointing of a building are supposed to provide fall-protection safety devices such as scaffolding, hoists, slings, stays, pulleys, hangers, ropes, irons, braces, and blocks. Owners or contractors who fail to provide these safety devices may be held absolutely liable for injuries caused by gravity-related crane accidents. Suppose, for example, you fell while coming down a tower crane at a construction project and were injured due to inadequate safety equipment. You may have a claim against the owner or contractor for violating Section 240. Similarly, if you suffered a traumatic brain injury and paralysis because a crane dropped an improperly secured load on you and you were not provided with safety devices, a Syracuse crane accident attorney can help you bring a claim under Section 240.

Labor Law § 241(6) imposes a duty upon a contractor or property owner to comply with all provisions of the New York State Industrial Code. If you were injured while excavating, conducting demolition work or performing other tasks on a construction site, and your injury was proximately caused by a violation of the Industrial Code, you may be able to file a lawsuit for damages.

Subpart 23-8 of the Industrial Code, which regulates tower cranes, mobile cranes, and derricks, prohibits the stressing of any component of a crane or derrick beyond its rated capacity as determined by a builder or manufacturer. Additionally, an owner’s authorized agent or the designated employee of an owner or lessee of cranes should inspect the crane every month. Power-operated cranes must have hoisting mechanism brakes that are able to sustain at rest 1½ times the maximum-rated load on a single part line. Foot or hand-operated cranes need to have a substantial locking device. Also, foot-operated brakes must have nonslip surfaces. Cranes should not be loaded beyond their rated capacities. If a crane collapses on a construction site because it was overloaded, you may have a claim for compensation under Labor Law 241(6) for any injuries or deaths to loved ones.

Crane accidents can be extremely destructive, resulting in catastrophic injuries and fatalities. If you were injured or a loved one was killed as the result of a crane accident in Syracuse, you may be able to recover damages in a lawsuit. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano, our lawyers represent people in Rochester, Syracuse, and other Upstate New York cities. These cities include Oswego, Lyons, Oneida, Cooperstown, Binghamton, Auburn, Canandaigua, Wampsville, Watertown, Ithaca, Utica, Elmira, Lowville and Herkimer. Contact DeFrancisco & Falgiatano at 833-200-2000 or via our online form.