Crane Construction Accidents Continue to Kill and Injure Texas Workers

An improperly balanced crane toppled earlier this month and injured two Dallas, Texas construction workers. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident of a construction crane mishap. This accident follows a string of summer crane accidents that have injured and killed Texas workers. In Smithfield a month earlier, one man was killed and another injured when an overloaded crane collapsed.

Not long before that accident, a 30-story tall crane at a Houston refinery toppled over, killing four contract workers and injuring seven others. Finally, a month earlier a snapped construction crane cable injured three people working on the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium in Arlington. The day before a worker died at a construction site in downtown Dallas when a piece of equipment fell from a crane and struck him.

The sorry state of crane regulation

Crane accidents are not only an issue for Texas workers. Across the country, most notably in New York, construction workers have been injured or killed in preventable crane accidents. In fact, in New York a city crane inspector was even found to have lied about inspecting a crane that days later killed workers. Clearly something is amiss in the world of crane construction regulation.

In thirty-five states there is no state-level public agency handling crane inspections mainly because there is no license requirement to operate a crane. This means that when a crane is sent to a construction site the operator is not required to hold any training or certification. Essentially this amounts to self-regulation by crane companies.

Not only that, but even in states governed by the federal OSHA arm, cranes are supposed to be inspected at least once every 12 months – but even this isn’t happening. An AP news analysis revealed that in 2007, OSHA inspected only 23,000 out of more than 4 million construction sites where cranes were in use.

Again, without inspections crane companies are essentially regulating themselves and their operators without any licensing or oversight. The result of this failure to protect workers and innocent bystanders has been seen in headlines across the country, detailing the injuries and deaths that could have been prevented.

When a worker is injured on the job their very livelihood is threatened. Because of this, if you or someone you love has been hurt while at work, every legal option you have should be reviewed by attorneys experienced with Texas and federal workplace injury laws. Please contact the Houston law offices of Vujasinovic & Beckcom for a free review and consultation of your case.

Vujasinovic & Beckcom P.L.L.C

1001 Texas Avenue, Suite 1020

Houston, TX 77002

Phone: 713.224.7800

Fax: 713.224.7801

Vujasinovic & Beckcom P.L.L.C
1001 Texas Avenue, Suite 1020
Houston, TX 77002

Phone: 713.224.7800
Fax: 713.224.7801