Fatal Crane Accident Raises Safety Concerns – Again

In the last few months we’ve focused on New York City’s problems with an increase in construction site accidents and questions about safety.  In response, the city’s Department of Buildings has promised to crack down on safety violators.  However, less than a month after the Department of Buildings kicked off their latest safety initiative, a crane that had supposedly been inspected by a city building inspector crashed into a building, killing seven people.

On March 15, 2008 part of a 22-story crane on the East Side of Manhattan collapsed, possibly while workers were trying to install steel bracing in order to increase the crane’s height.  The crane’s collapse demolished one building, damaged at least five others, and left seven people dead and injured 24 others.

Sadly, 11 days before this tragic construction accident, a complaint was made about the crane and a building inspector lied about performing an inspection.  The crane inspector was later arrested for filing a false report.  Either way, officials state it is unlikely that an inspection – even if it had been performed – would have prevented the accident, as the materials used to increase the crane’s height were not on site.  It was those materials that investigators believe probably caused the collapse.

New building department crane regulations

New regulations put forth by the buildings department would focus on the process of raising a crane’s height, commonly known as “jumping” a crane.  Regulations include the following:

• A city inspector must be present every time a crane is erected, jumped or dismantled.
• A written protocol must be produced for each “jump”, and must include guidelines for how the work is to be performed.
• The project engineer responsible for the written protocol must inspect the crane to certify that it was built and assembled according to the plan.
• The lead contractor must hold a safety meeting with workers involved before each “jump” operation.
• A buildings department inspector must monitor that pre-jump meeting.
• New guidelines state that nylon slings should only be used if they are recommended in the crane manufacturer’s manual, and softening mechanisms must be applied to all sharp edges.  The March 15 accident may have been caused – or exacerbated – by two nylon slings that broke.

Skeptics of the new regulations say that city inspectors are not properly trained to inspect cranes, no matter how many new rules are put into effect.  Building Commissioner Patricia J. Lancaster has conceded that crane inspectors will likely need additional training.

Inspection fallout: work halted at three construction sites

As a result of inspections triggered by the fatal March 15 crane collapse, three of nine tower cranes failed inspection and were shut down.  One crane was located at the Trump SoHo condo hotel on Spring Street, where small cracks were found in the slab attaching the crane to the building, and the crane’s beacon light was missing.  The permit for a crane at the Goldman Sachs headquarters on Murray Street listed a different name than the person who was operating the crane – that crane was also shut down.  These two sites are already notorious as both experienced serious accidents in the last few months.

The third crane shut down happened at Washington Street near the World Trade Center site, when an I-beam was found to be missing a pin.  As promised by building commissioner Lancaster, stop-work orders were issued at all three sites because of the inspection failures.  The city plans to take until April 15 to inspect all 220 cranes currently in operation in New York City, so more stop work orders could be forthcoming.

Crane accidents have been on the rise

Cranes accidents have been an issue in New York City for some time.  The city’s building boom means there has been a high demand for skilled crane operators, and as a result some crane operators are working on jobsites before they are fully licensed.  Considering the obvious danger that improper crane operation and handling poses not only to construction workers but also to pedestrians and residents, this kind of corner-cutting is a huge concern.

In 2007, eight accidents were blamed on crane problems, which is an increase from the five crane-related accidents in 2006.  In case you are wondering, the official building department definition of an “accident” is that it involves fatalities or injuries.  Compare this to the crane incidents in 2007 and 2006 – an incident being defined as some happening that did not involve fatalities or injuries.  In 2007  there were 21 of these crane-related “incidents,” which is an increase from 2006 when there were 14 “incidents”.

When the building boom is combined with a skilled operator shortage and an increase in crane related accidents and incidents, it is clear that new regulations are long overdue.  We can only hope that the regulations are properly enforced by well-trained inspectors, and that New York construction sites are made safer for everyone.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of a construction accident, then Peter Panas wants to help you get the justice you deserve.  Contact us today and find out how you could be eligible to receive compensation for lost wages, pain and suffering, lost future earnings, and medical expenses.

Law Office of Peter Panas, PC
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New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-946-4748
Fax: 866-805-2522