One of the most common types of tower crane accidents occurs when a dropped load injures or kills workers or other persons nearby. Such dropped loads causing injuries and deaths can be the basis of a crane accident lawsuit claiming payments for victims and their families.
What Causes a Dropped Load Accident?
As for what are some of the causes of dropped load accidents, those often involve improper securing of the load before it is lifted. When the sling, load or other attachments are not secured properly, a load can swing or tip, and the load can slide off and plunge to the ground.
Vital to prevent such dropped load accidents is regular crane maintenance. This can minimize the danger of falling materials. That is why the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires daily crane inspections prior to operators starting their work. Periodic inspection of load-bearing and integral parts also is vital to avoid mechanical failure, as is load test maintenance.
Wire Rope Failures are Frequent
Dropped loads occur frequently due to failures of the wire ropes that are used to secure a load. Studies show that almost all dropped loads occur due to one of two kinds of wire rope failure: overstressing and structural rope damage.
While exceeding load capacity won’t necessarily cause an immediate accident, since most cranes have a higher capacity than their rating indicates, such overloads and overstressing can lead to gradual degradation of wire ropes, which eventually fail as a result. Even in normal usage, wire ropes that secure loads must endure significant wear, and they’re considered the most vulnerable part of the hoist. Operating with the rope out of the sheaves can cause rope damage. The operator also may be at fault for attempting to lift too-heavy loads in the first place, and inadequate maintenance also can contribute to dropped loads when a wire rope fails.
Human Error Causes Dropped Loads
Even with regular maintenance and periodic inspections, dropped load crane accidents can happen because of human error. In fact, OSHA reports that about 80 percent of crane accidents are due to human errors, including those in which people are struck and even crushed by falling objects which were supposed to be properly secured on a tower crane’s lift.
Still more human errors can include the tower crane operator performing unsafe movements which lead to a dropped load, or the rigging being applied in a dangerous manner. If a too heavy load is lifted, that is also a major contributor to dropped load accidents.
Entering Unsafe Areas Leads to Deaths, Injuries
Sometimes a contributing factor in such injuries and deaths due to dropped loads is failure to barricade the work area properly or provide a flagger or spotter to signal where danger areas lie in the event of an accident. Persons who then enter the unsafe area can be subject to horrible injuries or death when a load drops.
Physical barriers and “HOIST DANGER” warning signs are especially important for those moving around a construction site, to ensure that they do not walk beneath a suspended load. Workers also should wear the required personal protection equipment to help protect their head, hands, feet and eyes.
Dropped Load Damages Delay Construction
Beyond the most terrible toll of a dropped load accident — loss of human life — falling materials from dropped tower crane loads can cause severe damage to equipment, materials and the building site itself, while leading to significant delays in a construction schedule. When crews then take shortcuts to finish the job on time, still more errors can be made, leading to dropped loads or other crane accidents.
To avoid such calamities, crane crews and operators must carefully follow all safety regulations and best practices for crane operation. Failure to do so can lead to death and destruction.
Get a Crane Accident Lawyer
Whatever the cause of a dropped load injury or death, families of victims can rest assured that they can seek legal remedies for their financial losses. That means getting a crane accident lawyer to handle their case. Contact us today at The Willis Law Firm to speak to a Board-Certified Personal Injury Attorney about your situation. We will quickly give you a free and confidential legal review of your case, and then you can decide how you want to proceed.
If you decide to engage us for a crane accident lawsuit due to a death or injury caused by a dropped load or other factor, we will not charge you any up-front legal fees, but rather will work on a contingency fee basis. That means we will only get paid if we win your case, and even then only from a portion of the settlement in your favor.
Contact us today about a death or injury due to a dropped load or other crane accident, and claim the payments to which you and your family are legally entitled.
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