Deadly New York Crane Accident Highlights Safety Issues As Multiple Cranes Operate in Charlotte, North Carolina
The deadly New York crane collapse that left seven people dead and 10 others injured has brought the issue of crane safety to attention—especially in Charlotte, North Carolina where a number of cranes are in operation.
Heade Southeast, Inc. operates 20 cranes in Center City Charlotte alone, not to mention another 20 cranes in the rest of the region. Some cranes can carry weight as heavy as 40,000 pounds.
The North Carolina Department of Labor says that there have been four deaths involving cranes in North Carolina since 2004. Dennis Kenna, Heade Southeast President, cites human error or disregard of the manufacturer’s safety recommendations as causes for crane accidents.
Recent North Carolina construction-related crane accidents:
November 2006: No one was injured when a crane collapsed at a construction site at Caldwell and Third Streets.
May 2006: A construction worker suffered a broken arm, neck, and legs when he was struck by a big concrete bucket that fell from a crane.
August 2004: A construction worker died at 'Steel Fab' in West Charlotte when a large steel beam crushed him.
May 2004: A construction worker died in Statesville after a crane hit him.
In New York on Monday, rescue workers pulled three more bodies from the rubble of Saturday’s catastrophic crane collapse--bringing the death toll to seven. The three victims are construction workers Clifford Canzona and Santino Gallino and Florida resident Odin Torres.
Torres is the only fatality that was not a construction workers. She was visiting her friend John Gallego in a nearby town home at the time of the collapse. The town home was destroyed by the crane. As of Tuesday, Gallego was in critical condition after being pulled from below 30 feet of rubble.
The crane had fallen when a 5 ½-ton steel collar, which workers had been installing around the crane, brook loose. The falling collar hit another collar, which destabilized the crane. The crane then smashed into the building on East 51st street and then the townhouse.
If you have been injured in a North Carolina or South Carolina construction accident, you should contact our personal injury law firm for your free consultation.
Death toll in New York crane collapse rises to 7, Los Angeles Times, March 18, 2008
Crane safety questioned after incident, News14.com, March 17, 2008
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