Whom Do You Sue When Victimized By A Crane Accident?
When you're surrounded by heavy machinery and working at great heights, even small things like a sudden uptick in the winds around the construction site or a crane operator who is momentarily distracted can end up causing a serious injury. New York City alone has seen a tremendous number of accidents involving cranes in just the last 10 years. If you or a close surviving relative is the victim of a crane accident, how can you recover adequate compensation for your injuries?
You may be able to sue the crane's operator or employer.
It's always possible that you may be able to recover some of the damages from the crane's operator if he or she made an error that caused the crane to fall. However, it's actually unlikely that the operator has enough to cover the financial cost of the devastating losses a victim or a victim's surviving family members may suffer.
Instead, your lawsuit is more likely to be directed at the operator's employer. Employers are generally held to be liable for the negligent actions of their employees through the legal theory of respondeat superior. This theory attaches a vicarious liability to the employer—who usually has a large liability insurance policy, especially if they are in the construction business.
In some cases, more than one company may be at fault. It isn't uncommon for smaller construction companies to rent cranes and/or the operator for a short period of time, especially if a special type of crane is needed for a specific job. If the crane itself was found to be poorly maintained or the crane's operator was working through the subcontractor that sent the equipment, you may need to seek compensation from both the construction company on site and the rental company that sent out either a defective crane or a negligent operator.
You may also be able to sue the city where the accident occurred.
Sometimes a lawsuit of this nature is better directed at the city where the accident occurred. For example, the wife of a man killed while sitting in his car near a construction site when a crane collapsed is suing New York City for $600 million. $550 million is what the estimated future income of the Harvard-educated 38-year-old victim would have likely earned in his lifetime if he had lived. The remaining $50 million is split between the pain and suffering the victim felt from knowing he was about to be hit with the crane and then briefly surviving the accident before dying from his injuries, and the widow's loss of his companionship and love.
It's likely that the basis of her lawsuit has to do with the failure of safety inspectors and other officials in the city to do more to stop these kinds of accidents. The number of inspections performed each year has been falling steadily, dropping 27% between 2011 and 2015. The statistics indicate that many construction sites are known safety violators. Non-union sites, in particular, are reported to be dangerous, with 93% of known "repeat offenders" being non-union. Many feel that the city isn't doing enough to keep either workers or city residents safe from harm.
If you or a closely related loved one fell victim to crane injuries, talk to an attorney about your case. Who exactly is responsible for your losses may depend on a variety of factors that the attorney can examine better once he or she knows the details.
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