Crane accidents are often avoidable, and they tend to happen only because of serious mistakes in the setup or operation of the crane. Because of this, there may be parties you can hold responsible, but only under certain conditions.
“Liability” basically just means legal responsibility. Generally, if you are an employee, then you can get your employer to pay for on-the-job injuries through Workers’ Compensation, and liability will not be an issue. However, you can also sue outside parties who caused the accident, which means looking for outside contractors, negligent crane manufacturers, and producers of other defective parts and materials to hold liable for the accident.
For a free case review, call the Law Office of John J. Sheehan’s construction accident lawyers at (617) 925-6407 today.
Can You Hold Your Employer Liable for a Crane Accident?
Generally speaking, your employer would not be liable for negligence in a crane accident case. Whether it tipped over, dropped material, or otherwise caused your injuries, you cannot sue your employer in most states.
There is generally an exception for independent contractors, who have no “employer” and can therefore sue anyone who caused the accident. However, there are often laws that define “employee” quite broadly, potentially including many people who otherwise think of themselves as “contractors.”
Instead of proving traditional liability for negligence in a lawsuit, you would file a Workers’ Compensation claim against your employer. This pays some damages – such as medical bills and a portion of lost wages – but it does not pay for pain and suffering.
To get those remaining damages, you would have to sue a third party for negligence.
When You Are Responsible for a Crane Accident
If you were the one to cause your own injuries by accident, then you cannot sue anyone. However, Workers’ Compensation is typically still available as long as you did not cause your injuries…
- Intentionally
- While drunk
- While using drugs
- While doing something illegal.
Employers are usually responsible for training their employees to prevent crane injuries and screening operators for drug and alcohol use. That makes these kinds of issues rare to begin with. That means that if you did cause your own injuries, it was likely through a complete accident.
If there is no third party to sue, you cannot sue your employer, and you cannot sue yourself, then Workers’ Compensation would be the best choice to get compensation. There simply would be no one else to hold liable.
Can You Sue Your Employer if Someone Caused a Crane Accident While Drunk?
Although employers are usually supposed to screen crane operators to make sure they are sober, this might not always happen. Depending on the wording of your state’s Workers’ Compensation laws, it might be the case that any injuries caused by intoxication are not covered.
Most states merely restrict coverage when you were the one who was drunk. However, some states do block Workers’ Compensation if alcohol caused the accident in any way.
What this would do is block Workers’ Compensation, potentially leaving open access to a lawsuit. This might allow you to sue the crane operator and potentially their employer (which is probably your own employer, too) if they allowed the operator to work under the influence.
Third-Party Lawsuits
Looking at the actual causes of crane accidents, we can often find third parties liable for the accident. This means that, even if a Workers’ Compensation claim is available, our Milford, MA construction accident lawyers can help you hold that third party liable, too.
Some damages may get paid through both claims, but this ensures that you ultimately get both sets of damages paid: the Workers’ Compensation benefits (e.g., medical bills) and lawsuit damages (e.g., pain and suffering).
However, the Workers’ Compensation insurance carrier may be able to file a claim against you to get some of their money back so that you do not actually get reimbursed twice for the same damages.
Liability for Crane Tipping
Crane tipping accidents are typically caused by dangerous operation or improper setup.
Most tip-over accidents are caused by insufficient counterweights or an overweight load. This could be the fault of whoever loaded the materials to be lifted or whoever set up the crane.
With smaller mobile cranes, it is also important to make sure the ground is properly set up to stabilize the crane and that any additional supports have a good footing. Failing to set this up or failing to disclose issues with the property could be the cause of injury.
All in all, this means you can potentially hold any of these liable:
- The operator
- The parties who set up the materials to be lifted
- The parties who set up the area, potentially including the property owner.
Liability for Cranes Dropping Materials
If materials cause injury after being intentionally dropped, it usually means operator error or poor communication with the people guiding the operator. For example, if the operator thinks it’s a good time to drop the cargo, but it’s still 10 feet off the ground, that fall could damage structures and seriously injure people.
However, in some cases, dangerous loading or catastrophic failure could cause an operator to have to drop the cargo in a controlled way to avoid an even worse accident. That could be because of mechanical failure or other issues listed below.
Other accidents where the cargo falls could be caused by a few different issues.
- Operator error could cause the cargo to move or swing too fast, allowing things to fall off.
- Improper loading could mean things are not properly secured, allowing them to fall.
- Improper loading could also mean the cargo is not properly hooked on, allowing the entire load to fall off the crane.
- Manufacturer mistakes could cause defective hooks, cables, or pallets to break, dropping cargo.
- Bad repairs or inspections could also allow the same kinds of issues.
Liability for Other Crane Accidents
Other crane accidents could involve swinging the crane into people or buildings, accidents while moving the crane into position, operating during dangerous weather, failing to properly maintain and inspect the crane, or using a crane that is too big or too small for the job at hand.
These issues can often be blamed on…
- Operators
- Their employers
- The company that owns the crane
- The maintenance team/mechanics
- The site manager who allowed work during dangerous weather
- The construction firm that hired the wrong crane for the job
- The operators and supervisors who allowed dangerous jobs to go on.
Can You Sue for Crane Accidents?
Ultimately, many of these issues circle back to the employer or a coworker being at fault. Suing a coworker is unlikely to result in damages unless you get them from the employer, which you cannot typically do under Workers’ Compensation laws.
If you are suing an outside party like a company that rented you the crane, another construction firm, or a manufacturer, you can often sue. Otherwise, Workers’ Compensation may be your only route to recovery.
Call Our Construction Accident Lawyers Today
If you were hurt working on a construction site, call (617) 925-6407 to speak with the Peabody, MA construction accident lawyers at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan.