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Chicago Crane Accident Lawyer
Cranes are used in various construction projects, from high-rise buildings to road and bridge projects. Although a necessary and vital piece of equipment, if proper safety procedures and precautions are not used, working on and around cranes can be deadly.
Any company or government project using this type of machinery must maintain strict security guidelines to protect those working on the construction project.
Have you been injured in a crane accident? Let a crane accident lawyer begin working on your construction accident case today.
The construction accident attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers represent clients injured or killed in a Chicago, Illinois crane accident. Contact us toll-free today for a free consultation at (888) 424-5757.
Fatality Facts for Crane Operators & Workers
Many people are injured each year in crane construction accidents; dozens of these are fatalities. The most common crane-related fatalities involve electrocution, the load dropping on workers, or the crane collapsing.
In a look at construction crane accident fatalities over 14 years from 1992-2006, specific construction accidents are common.
There were a total of 632 wrongful deaths over the period, averaging forty-two per year. Construction laborers were the most common type of worker killed, followed by equipment operators. Almost 25% of the fatalities were due to electrocution, followed by being struck by payload, crane collapse, and struck by the boom.
Mobile crane equipment was involved in 71% of the fatalities. Tower cranes were only involved in 5% of the fatalities. The other 24% were a variety of overhead, barge, or floating cranes.
Overall, crane fatalities are even higher. From 1997-2006, crane-related fatalities ranged from a low of 62 in 2003 to 97 deaths in 1997.
At a 2010 Crane & Rigging Conference, the data from crane-related deaths and serious injuries was presented by the Center For Construction Research & Training, identifying accident categories and causes. In 2008, there were 58 deaths from crane accidents.
Fifty-four were injured workers, and four of the dead were bystanders. There were 126 injuries, with one hundred happening to construction workers, crane operators, and the rest sustained by bystanders and rescue workers.
That year, crane collapses were the number one cause, attributing 39% of the personal injury and fatality incidents.
A crane accident like a crane collapse can change your life forever. Let our experienced personal injury lawyers review your serious crane accident and crane injury today to see if crane accident cases can be filed for compensation.
Personal injury attorneys from our law firm regularly bring personal injury claims for crane accident victims. This can help you obtain compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, legal fees, and other things that the crane injury caused.
How to Prevent a Crane Accident
The use of a crane or other heavy equipment requires many security precautions on the worksite to protect construction workers and bystanders.
Safety measures involve ensuring that all workers are adequately trained and certified on all machinery and ensure correct maintenance is performed on the equipment and a security plan for each lift.
According to OSHA, ways that construction site management and workers can improve crane safety are:
- Qualified and trained personnel. Only people who are trained and qualified in crane operation and maintenance should operate any crane function. Machinery should be properly inspected before use.
- Level, secure site. Crane equipment should only be operated on a level, firm area.
- Safety plan. Before the operation, there should be a plan to avoid any dangers, including planning to stay within weight restrictions, not moving loads over workers, and looking for dangers such as power lines.
- Check load stability. Raise the load a few inches, hold and check stability, and braking before moving the load.
Nearly all heavy machinery and crane accident fatalities can be prevented. Electrocution is the number killer in construction crane accidents.
A good security plan involving awareness of all power lines and electricity sources could eliminate many preventable deaths. All construction management and workers must ensure they adhere to safety guidelines to prevent avoidable crane accidents.
Even the Crane Inspection & Certification Bureau agrees that most crane accidents can and should be prevented. They point that 90% of crane accidents are human errors that can be rectified by improved training.
The Bureau warns that a construction accident can lead to legal liabilities for the construction companies and property owners and that improved training is less expensive than litigation costs.
The legal team at our law offices can help injured people and accident victims get fair compensation and maximum compensation from the negligent party for their reckless behavior. They normally are held liable in a workers compensation injury claim, wrongful death suit, personal injury case, etc.
Serious injury victims, especially those with catastrophic injury, can file a crane accident case or personal injury claim with a crane accident attorney. Talk to a crane accident attorney today about what can work for you.
How to Obtain Workers' Compensation Benefits After a Crane Accident
Any worker injured in the workplace has a legal right to seek financial compensation through the worker's compensation program. The program provides benefits paid through the employer's insurance company coverage for medical expenses, hospitalization costs, time away from work, pain, and suffering.
In addition to workers' comp benefits, our crane accident attorneys will evaluate your case with a free consultation to determine if another entity is responsible, in which case we can pursue a third-party lawsuit to recover additional benefits not offered under work comp law, including:
- Medical care
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Disability
- Wrongful death benefits
A crane accident case is just one type of personal injury claim, like a truck accident or car accident case. After accidents occur, nearly all personal injury cases follow the same pattern so you can quickly get up to speed on the processes by calling our offices and speaking with us.
Crane Accident Fatality FAQs
Below are some frequently asked questions related to personal injuries and preventable deaths involving crane equipment. We appreciate that there is no way to prepare for an incident like this.
Consequently, we invite you to contact our law office for a free consultation and case review with one of the crane accident attorneys in our law firm if you have suffered an injury in a crane accident. We are here to help.
Call us for a free case evaluation about your legal options against the property owner, other workers, or other somebody else today. We can discuss what happened (mobile cranes, falling objects, uncontrolled hoisted load, overhead power lines, etc.). Then, we could identify the best cause of action for you.
Cranes pose significant dangers if construction industry workers are not properly trained on the job site. Left unchecked, many crane accidents will lead to catastrophic injuries. Personal injury clients should try to avoid them in the first place lest they need to seek a personal injury lawyer.
Crane Accident Lawyers Fighting for You
The law firm of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC is experienced in handling serious accidents on construction sites–including crane accidents. Our experience with crane accidents has allowed us to develop a network of some of the leading experts in crane design, operations, and construction security.
Was your loved one a worker injured in any construction accident? Contact us and let’s discuss the law and your legal rights. As with all of our construction accident cases, there is never a fee to charge to talk to our lawyers about your situation.
Contact our law firm today at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) to schedule a free case consultation with one of our crane accident lawyers. All discussions with a lawyer from our law firm remain confidential through an attorney-client relationship.
When you contact an attorney from our law office, please do not send sensitive information through voicemail, email, or text message when you contact us.