Construction Crane Regulation Needed to Prevent Crane Accidents
For construction accident lawyers that have been practicing for years, it is not unusual to find their crane accident cases referencing the standards of numerous governing bodies. According to an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimate, there are 96,000 construction cranes in the United States. While much of the construction industry falls under tight regulation controlled by local, state, or federal oversight, the area of construction crane industry falls under an anomalous regulatory scheme involving various jurisdictions. This can present a number of legal issues to victims of crane accidents, making it imperative to address the situation through experienced construction accident attorneys.
The current regulatory regime for crane safety was created by OSHA in 1971, and still provides the standard to which construction accident attorneys refer to in their cases. The regulations provide requirements for the crane’s maintenance, record keeping and inspections, which are required annually. However, these same regulations do not outline enforcement procedures to ensure the crane owner’s compliance. At this writing, new draft regulations that would update OSHA’s crane rules are proposed, but there is no firm timetable for their enactment. Construction cranes can be a towering hazard at construction sites potentially endangering both operators and construction workers.
Lack of Crane Operator Regulation
The absence of coordinated and stringent oversight is all too tangible in the grim construction crane fatality statistics: an average of 81 crane-related deaths from 1997-2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). A recent Associated Press study that focused on construction crane accidents and regulation revealed some sobering insights. The study’s most salient revelation was the fact that in 35 states, crane operators are not required to obtain any type of license for operation. As construction accident attorneys have stated in the past, this poses a threat not only to the crane operator but also to the people living and working around them.
Clifford Law Offices Has Experienced Construction Crane Accident Lawyers
Clifford Law Offices has been representing the victims of construction accidents for decades. For example, the crane accident law firm represented the family of a construction worker who was killed in 2005 when part of a building collapsed under the weight of concrete slabs being installed by a crane. The New Lenox electrician and father of three small children was killed.
The construction accident lawyers also represent the family of a woman who was killed when a commuter train struck and killed her in 2005 at tracks that were under construction. The Oak Park bicyclist was beckoned by a railroad employee to cross the tracks when, in fact, a construction crane blocked the biker’s view. She was unable to see an express train hurtling down a third set of tracks and it killed her.
The combined experience of the construction accident attorneys adds up to hundreds of years of wrongful death and personal injury work. Clifford Law Offices’ construction accident lawyers will examine the cause of the accident, which can be an issue of faulty design or construction, improper maintenance, or inadequate or negligent inspection. The construction crane accident law firm will also examine the victims’ losses that include medical expenses, lost wages, future earnings, future medical care, pain and suffering, grief, sorrow and mental suffering, loss of quality of life, and other possible damage claims.
The construction accident lawyers at the firm embrace the theory that those responsible for construction crane accidents must be held accountable for their negligent actions. Clifford Law Offices represents victims’ families and gets the answers they deserve. Please call Clifford Law Offices, experienced construction accident attorneys and unsafe premises attorneys, at (312) 899-9090.
Construction accident lawyers and attorneys with Clifford Law Offices are experienced in representing victims of construction crane accidents.
