Last week in this space, we told you about a candlelight vigil held by friends of a construction worker killed in a New York City crane collapse.
Now the company that owned the crane that collapsed at a Manhattan subway construction site has been fined $68,000 for safety violations involving the April 3 disaster.
The man killed was just 30 years old when the crane collapsed on top of him at the No. 7 extension site at Manhattan’s 34th Street.
The U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration also cited the man’s employer, a subcontractor on the project, with a violation.
The contractor on the project was cited by OSHA for failing to carry out required inspections of wire ropes used to lift material, including the hoist that snapped and triggered the fatal crane crash.
OSHA said inspections of those wire ropes used on the boom hoist are required before each work shift.
The contractor was also cited for failing to properly train crane riggers, as well as for allowing a worker inside the fall zone of the crane and for failing to conduct the mandated yearly functional testing of the hoist.
“Fundamental, vital and required safety practices were not followed in this case, resulting in the most extreme consequence: the loss of a worker’s life,” Manhattan’s OSHA area director said in a statement.
The company insists it has a good safety record and is reportedly going to appeal the citations, according to a media report.
The parents of the man killed are apparently deeply dismayed by the company’s claims about its safety record.
Source: phillyburbs.com, “Company cited for crane accident that killed Burlington City man,” Oct. 11, 2012
- Our New York City law firm represents clients in injury claims involving crane collapses.