This investigation was prompted by the collapse of two cranes in 2008.  In the first collapse, seven individuals died; in the second collapse, two individuals died.   The defense attorney noted that the cranes involved in these accidents were not of the type for which the defendant was accused of taking bribes.

The punishment, while severe, may well have been even harsher were it not for the fact that the defendant suffers from a pulmonary disease brought on by his work supervising crane operations at Ground Zero after the 9/11 tragedy.

Within just the last several months there have been a spate of crane accidents in New York City, some of which have resulted is serious injury and even death. The latest crane collapse occurred in Brooklyn , at a construction site. Four workers were injured. Not long before that a large crane “tilted,” hitting a 25 storey building.

Before these incidents, the City of New York has seen crane accidents over a period of years.  With injuries come lawsuits, and cases have been going to trial. Just this month (April, 2010), in a case that involved the death of two construction workers in May, 2008, in a crane collapse, a judge  took the rare step of fining the City of New York, one of the defendants in the case, for failing to provide documents to the Plaintiffs as ordered by the court . There was also a criminal case pending against the owner of the crane company for taking inappropriate steps to repair a part of this crane that had previously cracked.  It was this part that caused the crane to subsequently collapse.

In the collapse of the crane into the 25 story building, New York City suspended the operator’s license.

It was determined that because the operator left the crane in other than the safest position possible, the collapse occurred.

In a criminal case that may well be symptomatic for so many of the problems the City faces at construction sites, the City’s former chief crane inspector pleaded guilty to “receiving bribes”.  His career with the City spanned 26 years.  He admitted he took bribes over the last several years to basically provide abbreviated and inadequate inspections of cranes, as well as crane operator qualifications.

It was after the second of two crane collapses in 2008, that resulted in a total of nine deaths, that the City began to seriously crack down on inspections.  The City then also began a program of “beefing up” its crane inspection system.

Crane collapses are almost invariably serious events involving drastic injuries.  Those seeking to bring a lawsuit based upon crane accidents would do well to investigate carefully the reputation and experience of any personal injury lawyer that they consider retaining to represent their interests.

Construction activity in New York City, as almost everywhere else in the nation, has experienced a drastic slowdown during this past year.  The reason is not difficult to fathom: the Recession, and the consequent constriction in financing by banks.

One piece of good news accompanies this fact: building sites reported THREE (3) fatalities in all of 2009.   That represents a downward spiral of 12 deaths in 2007 and 19 fatalities in 2008 !*

New York City Buildings Department – tougher enforcement caused decline in construction accident fatalities.

While the recession certainly had a major role in this situation, the officials in the New York City Buildings Department attribute tougher enforcement of rules as a contributing factor in the decline.It should be noted, however, that tougher enforcement was undoubtedly directly linked to the experience of two recent horrendous construction crane accidents.

In taking solace at the diminished number of fatalities at construction sites, the overall number of injuries at construction sites rose in 2009.  According to officials, this was mainly due to improved reporting of accidents.

It is vital to remember that construction site accidents virtually always involve THIRD PARTIES which may be responsible for recoveries, in addition  to WORKERS COMPENSATION recovery. Any construction  worker, involved in any accident at a construction site, should contact an experienced Personal Injury attorney immediately, so that his rights and interests can be fully protected.  A Worker’s Compensation attorney will also have to be contacted at some point.

*ClaimsJournal.com–Associated Press