Machines that size don’t fail by luck
The crane that collapsed at a Houston refinery in July 2008 was the largest in the world. Machines like that don’t fall because of bad luck. They fall because of decisions — about loads, about weather and ground conditions, about whether the people responsible followed the engineering and the rules that exist so a thing that big stays standing.
VB Attorneys represented eight of the injured workers and recovered for them.
The bookends of the firm’s crane work
In this firm’s record, the 2008 collapse sits alongside the $44,370,000 verdict for a rigger killed in a refinery crane lift: the two bookends of its crane work. Different decades, same lesson — crane safety rules are written in other people’s blood, and companies that skip them answer for it here.
What the evidence showed
- The failure traced to decisions, not chance.
- The largest crane in the world collapsed onto working crews at a Houston refinery in July 2008.
- Eight injured workers were represented by VB Attorneys, with recoveries for each.
- The engineering and safety rules governing heavy lifts anchored the liability case.
The machine, and the answer
When the biggest machine on earth falls on working men, the question is never luck. It’s decisions — and who answers for them.
More from the record
Every case is different. Prior results depend on the facts of the individual case and do not guarantee a similar outcome.