In a recent wrongful death case, the surviving husband had a back ground in the crane industry. As plaintiff's case came crumbling to the ground, an actual Mobile crane came crashing down in Houston at an oil refinery. Four workers were killed seven others injured. The massive crane was forty stories tall. It apparently fell on top of a smaller, yellow crane. Three of the injured were apparently treated and released. Two of the injured were flown to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. Two other injured people were taken by an ambulance to a local hospital.
Who owned the crane? Deep South Crane & Rigging apparently owned or leased the crane. It was 300 feet tall with a 400-foot boom. It is considered one of the largest mobile cranes. Deep South spokeswoman Margaret Landry indicated that they are investigating "to determine the root cause, correct it and ensure that this type of tragedy does not occur again." Crane safety has become a popular topic of discussion in recent months. An alarming number of crane-related accidents have happened in Florida, Miami, New York, and Las Vegas. In fact, two crane accidents have happened in New York since March. Nine people died.
Who is the culprit? One senior citizen suggested to Legal Pub that it was terrorism. Most suggest it is not. According to the A.P. cities and states have wildly varying rules governing construction cranes. Some have no regulations at all. Those without regulation rely on federal guidelines 40 years old. Texas has no state or local regulations. In 2005 to 2006 they apparently had 26 crane-related fatalities. The crane was delivered in pieces and assembled at the refinery last month. East Texas Crane Academy certified crane operators for Lyondell. Cameras mounted around the plant may reveal footage documenting the mechanism of failure.
What about OSHA? OSHA requires cranes to undergo annual inspections. Federal law requires inspection records be kept, but they are not submitted to any reviewing body.
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11 comments:
L.P. Terrorism keeps crossing my mind too. But after your story, I think that is less likely now.
James
L.P.
You rock. Congratulations on another great verdict.
Legal Eagle 3
LP - You won?! Awesome!
I would rather be lucky than good, Ms. C. Thanks.
This legal dude is too good to be true. If I had not verified it, I would think it all hype. Thanks for taking the time to share your take on legal issues in the news. I used to think that all lawyers care about was money and that obviously is not the case with you. Why not let us know when your next big case is so more folks can watch you pick a jury?
Brad
Cranes scare me. I try to stay away. I always think they are going to drop something or fall over.
Anonymous, relax. Take it from me. I have surfed beaches all over the world. On the occasion that I have seen one or more cranes, the only thing I worry about is bird poop dropping on my head. But even if it happens, a good dip in the water will wash it out.
Surfer Dude
There have been some attempts by imposters to pretent to be me, so if from now on a post is not from my google account on any google blog, then it is an imposter.
On this crane issue, all these incidents are bringing a smile to the faces of personal injury lawyers from coast to coast.
Smart move Joel.
B
Yup, definitely!
Good Stats!
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