Recent crane collapse prompts reevaluation of safety standards

There have been a number of crane accidents and collapses in New York City in the last couple of years—so what is the City doing about it?
For people living in New York, the sight of towering construction sites that stick around for long periods of time is just something to get used to. The big city is constantly seeing new developments and repairs to existing ones, and the structure of things in the city is to build up rather than out. As can be expected with a lot of people traveling directly beneath major construction sites, safety needs to be an important priority in order to reduce the likelihood of someone getting accidentally injured-so it is no surprise that after a crane recently collapsed in 2016, the City has been engaged in a thorough review of safety protocols in order to determine the cause and how to prevent it from happening again.

A tragic incident

Building safety regulations are meant to make the chance of someone getting hurt by a faulty construction project as small as possible. So when the crane collapse happened where the massive building implements came down over the Tappan Zee Bridge, it was a great relief when nobody was seriously injured or killed. According to the same article by the Insurance Journal, this was not the first crane collapse to happen in recent times, and other collapses have resulted in injury and death to both construction workers and to passers-by.

What caused the accident?

Apparently when the scene was investigated, it appears that it was the boom itself which collapsed. This part of the crane extends about 250 feet out from the base. While it is not known exactly what led to the collapse, work has already begun on a $3.9 billion replacement. In addition, the agencies that are investigating the incident are being encouraged to expedite their findings as much as possible by Governor Cuomo.

How is the danger being addressed?

Unfortunately it would appear the construction procedures for cranes are not always the best for the situation. Since the incident, more accidents have happened, like the collapse of a crawler crane in February of 2016. One idea that the Mayor of New York City put into action was the initiation of a new “black box” device that warns operators if a crane is lifting too heavy of a load. This, in addition to a new task force for enhancing safety, may help to prevent future accidents from happening.

In addition, in August of 2018, a new squad was put together to enhance compliance with safety protocols. The Construction Safety Enforcement unit and Construction Safety Compliance unit will both be making sure that the recent updates to safety protocols are followed to the best of worker abilities.

Anyone who has been injured while working at a construction site or even while being around one may be justified in receiving financial compensation for the cost of medical needs. An attorney in the local area who practices personal injury law may be able to help in obtaining such compensation.