Crane Accident Lawyer in New York City

• Crane collapse — boom, mast, or entire crane fails
• Dropped loads — comes free during a lift due to rigging, sling, or hook failure
• Swinging load strikes — load swings into a worker due to inadequate tag lines or wind
• Worker struck by counterweight or boom during operation
• Crane operator falls during operation, maintenance, or assembly
• Erection and dismantling accidents — particularly dangerous
• Power-line contact causing electrocution or arc flash
• Personnel hoist and rigging incidents

THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Labor Law §240

When a worker is injured by a falling load or by a swinging load that causes a fall, §240 applies. Falling load cases are particularly strong §240 cases.

Labor Law §241(6) and Industrial Code 23-9

12 NYCRR 23-9 — power-operated equipment — addresses cranes specifically. Subsections cover operator qualifications, equipment inspection, capacity charts, lift planning, and rigging requirements.

Labor Law §200

Where the GC or owner had notice of unsafe crane operations or inadequate lift planning.

Product liability

Where a component of the crane was defective — a sling, a hook, a brake, a structural member.

The liability chain is unusually long: property owner, general contractor, crane subcontractor, rigger or rigging subcontractor, signal person responsible party, equipment manufacturers, licensed crane operator personally in some egregious cases, and adjacent property owners in airspace cases.

NYC has specific licensing requirements — a Class A or Class B Hoisting Machine Operator license is required for most cranes. The operator’s prior incident history is part of the early case workup.

Injuries: crush injuries (often catastrophic, frequently fatal), traumatic amputations, spinal cord injuries, severe traumatic brain injury, multiple complex fractures, internal organ injuries, burn injuries, and mass casualty events.

WHAT TO DO

1. Get full medical evaluation including imaging and trauma workup.
2. Photograph the scene from multiple angles before the site is cleared.
3. Identify the crane company, operator, rigger, and GC.
4. Identify all witnesses and get contact information immediately.
5. Note the weather conditions and wind speed at the time of the accident.
6. Save physical evidence — slings, rigging, tools, PPE.
7. Do not give a recorded statement.
8. Call us before signing anything.

Damages: past and future medical, lost wages and lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, wrongful death where applicable.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

DEVELOPER PERSPECTIVE

Crane cases live in the lift plan, the pick package, the crane subcontract, and the daily logs. Was this crane subcontractor on the GC’s preferred vendor list, and what was the price difference from alternatives? Was the lift plan reviewed by a structural engineer or signed off by the safety officer alone? Was the project running behind schedule? Did this crane have prior maintenance issues? Was the operator’s prior project history clean?

Los accidentes de grúa en obras de construcción de Nueva York tienden a ser catastróficos. Los casos también son legalmente complejos. Amparo Law Firm está construido precisamente para este tipo de caso.

Accidentes de grúa: colapso de grúa, cargas caídas, golpes por carga oscilante, trabajador golpeado por contrapeso, caídas del operador, accidentes de erección y desmontaje, contacto con líneas eléctricas.

Las teorías legales: Ley Laboral §240 para cargas que caen, §241(6) citando 23-9, §200 donde el GC tenía notificación, y responsabilidad del producto donde un componente era defectuoso.

Lesiones por aplastamiento, amputaciones traumáticas, lesiones de la médula espinal, traumatismo cerebral, fracturas múltiples, lesiones de órganos internos, y lesiones por quemaduras.

Resultados anteriores no garantizan un resultado similar.