$1,350,000 Crane Accident – Conscious pain and suffering and wrongful death

Injuries: Massive internal injuries and crush injuries; conscious pain and suffering; wrongful death

Amount of Settlement: $1,350,000

Special Damages: Medical expenses and funeral expenses approximately $75,000

Plaintiff’s Lawyer: Attorney David W. White Boston, Massachusetts

Details of the Case

The accident occurred when the plaintiff was crushed by a crane which tipped over on a construction site. The construction site accident caused severe internal injuries, and the plaintiff died later on the same day of the accident.

The plaintiff, who was twenty-eight years old, was a licensed crane operator who, along with his assistant known as an oiler, had set up a crane at an industrial site to perform a brief lifting operation. The set-up of the crane included extending the outriggers, then raising the crane up on the outrigger pads. The crane was set up on a freshly prepared gravel bed, which concealed the true nature of the soil.

Shortly after the crane was set up and the boom was extended, the crane became unstable due to a failure of the soil. The plaintiff was pinned under the crane after it fell over, and suffered severe crush injuries from the his abdomen to his feet. Extrication from the site took about an hour, and plaintiff was rushed to the hospital, where he expired the same day as a result of severe internal injuries. Plaintiff was fully conscious while he was being rescued from under the crane.

The multiple defendants in the case attempted to blame the plaintiff for the manner in which the crane was set up. However, extensive discovery revealed that the operators of the industrial site were aware that the ground water levels were extremely high, and that the soil was fill over a wetland, which  made the soil very unstable. The site manager, though he had worked on the site for over a dozen years, claimed he was unaware of the soil conditions. He also disclaimed any responsibility for investigating or warning about the soil.

Plaintiff’s experts were prepared to testify that the site operator had a duty to investigate and to warn about soil conditions in order to prevent construction site accidents, and that it failed to do so. Plaintiff’s experts were also prepared to testify that the plaintiff had made a reasonable evaluation of the site before setting up the crane, and that the manner in which the crane was set up was within industry standards.

Plaintiff was not married and was survived by his mother and father.

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What to Do If You Have Been Injured in a Crane Accident or Other Construction Accident

Unfortunately, crane accidents are still fairly common in Massachusetts. Accidents in recent years have included cranes pulling away from buildings after anchor bolt failures, crane tip-overs, and loads dropped from cranes. When a crane accident occurs, the effects are usually devastating, as in the case above. Our lawyers have decades of experience handling crane accident and other construction accident cases.

Acting promptly to preserve your rights is essential after a construction site accident. For more information on choosing a crane accident lawyer, please refer to our page on Personal Injury Caused by Construction Accidents.