Cranes are an essential part of a wide variety of industrial projects across Indiana and Illinois. Cranes are used not only on commercial construction sites, they are necessary components of work done at our local steel mills and maritime ports, as well as other industrial sites (factories, manufacturing, etc.).
What are Cranes?
Cranes are heavy machinery used in industrial settings to lift, lower, and move heavy materials. Some cranes can move; some are immobile. Cranes range in size as well as capacity. Cranes can be massive (heavy duty or technological); of an intermediate size (scrap yard, billet, blooms, etc.); or light machines that move about to hoist products and cargo.
In addition to size variations, there are many types of cranes, operated with engines and software as well as cables and pulleys, that serve specific industrial needs of the work site.
Steel Mill Cranes
For instance, in the steel mills of Illinois and Indiana, the following types of cranes may be found:
- Bulk Handling Cranes
- Scrap Yard Cranes
- Slag Handling Cranes
- Furnace Charging Cranes
- Ladle Cranes
- Tundish Cranes
- Slab Handling Cranes (Heavy Plates, Slabs)
- Billet Handling Cranes
- Coil Handling Cranes
- Long Product Handling Cranes (H-Beams, Bars, Rods, Round Tube, Rectangular Tube)
- Plate Handling Cranes
- Service and Maintenance Cranes.
Construction Site Cranes
Commercial construction sites may have one or more of the following types of cranes:
- Vehicle Mounted Crane
- Tower Crane
- Rough Terrain Crane
- Crawler Crane
- All Terrain Crane
- Railroad Crane
- Telescopic Handler Crane
- Harbor Cranes
- Floating Crane
- Aerial Crane
- Telescopic Crane
- Level Luffing Cranes.
Maritime Port Cranes
Maritime workers tasked with moving freight at our local ports may work with:
- Crawler Cranes
- Chainloaders
- Container Cranes
- Straddle Cranes.
Risk of Crane Accident Fatalities or Catastrophic Injuries on the Job
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”), most workers that die in a crane accident are killed as a result of a struck-by incident, where they are hit by an object falling from the crane. Statistics compiled by the BLS also reveal the highest risk work sites for crane fatalities and which jobs pose the greatest danger of a catastrophic crane injury.
For more on struck-by accidents, read: Fatal Construction Work Accident: Injuries from Being Struck By Object.
Crane Accident: Most Dangerous Work Sites
Of crane accident fatalities, the BLS reports that 43% of fatal work accidents involving cranes take place on a construction site. Construction cranes with specialty trade contractors and civil engineering construction ranking the highest with these construction crane fatalities.
Factories or plants rank as the second most dangerous work site for a crane accident (24% crane fatalities), with road construction cranes ranking third (8%) and dockyard cranes the fourth highest threat of worker injury (6%).
Among the states, Illinois ranks in the Top Five with the most fatal on-the-job injuries caused by a crane accident according to the BLS.
Crane Accident: Operator Likely to be Harmed
Among crane accident victims, the most vulnerable to a serious or fatal bodily injury involving a crane mishap are those workers operating the crane itself.
Crane operators are the victims of fatal crane accidents in twenty-two percent (22%) of the fatalities. Workers on the job site that are involved in constructing, assembling, or dismantling tasks are also at an extremely high risk of a fatal crane incident (23%).
Causes of Serious Crane Accidents on the Work Site
According to the Crane Inspection & Certification Bureau (CICB), crane injuries can be attributed to the following causes in most instances, according to their research:
- 90% of crane accidents occur due to human error;
- 80% of all crane upsets are attributed to operators exceeding the crane’s operational capacity;
- 54% of these incidents are the result of swinging the boom or making a lift without the outriggers full extended; and
- 45% of all mobile crane accidents involve electrocution that results from the crane contacting a power source during operation.
However, the cause of a worker’s death or permanent harm in a specific crane accident on the job site must be investigated by authorities as well as those advocating on behalf of the victim and his loved ones. Each case is unique, and different factors can come together to create circumstances that contributed or caused the accident and its aftermath.
Crane accident victims can be the operator; other workers on the site; and bystanders or visitors to the site. These victims may perish from something falling from a height off the crane, but bodily injuries may also be the result of electrocution or a motor vehicle accident where the victim is hit or run over by the crane itself.
The reason for these events can involve human error on the part of the crane operator or others on the site, of course, as the CICP suggests. However, there may be other causes of the crane accident where the state laws of Indiana and Illinois will find personal injury liability with those responsible for the incident, for instance:
- failure to train or supervise workers may put legal liability on the companies and management responsible for oversight;
- failure to repair or maintain the crane may cause legal responsibility to fall upon a number of third parties;
- failure to monitor and care for the work site itself (like protecting against electrical cords on the ground, etc.) can cause the employer and others with the duty of care for the site to be held legally accountable for the fatal crane accident; and
- weather conditions at the time, as well as other hazards that may be involved (as for example, traffic at a road construction site), may also be a consideration of legal causation and fault.
Crane Accidents in Indiana and Illinois
The sad truth is that most crane accidents in our part of the country will result in the victim suffering severe bodily harm resulting in either catastrophic injuries or death. These are cases where it is vital to mount an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crane accident, and it is paramount that this be done by those who are seeking the best interests of the accident victim and his family.
Several different parties may be liable for the accident and its resulting damages under the laws of Indiana and Illinois. Negligence, product liability, workers’ compensation, and wrongful death laws may provide avenues for justice to the crane accident victim and their loved ones.
For more on job site accidents and worker death claims, read:
- Rising Trend in Workers Killed on the Job: BLS Reports Highest Number of Worker Deaths Since 2008
- New Construction Worker Safety Report: 43% Jump in Road Construction Worker Deaths
- Steel Mill Workers in Indiana and Illinois: Rising Production and Greater Danger of Injury or Death
- Injuries to Longshoremen and Harbor Workers in Indiana and Illinois: Maritime Accidents
Cranes are a part of the daily life for many workers here in Indiana and Illinois. They face the danger of a serious or deadly crane accident when employers, contractors, and others fail in their legal duty of care and safety. Please be careful out there!
