Crane work injury statistics reveal the importance of safety procedures

Houston fatal work injury lawyers note that Texas, with its endless miles of roadway and growing population, continues to maintain a solid pace of construction and maintenance work even as the rest of the country slows during the economic downturn. This means that Texas also continues to maintain the highest rate of crane-related work fatalities.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which keeps tabs on the risks of injury, illness, and fatality across all occupations, has tabulated some in-depth information on work injuries and accidents specifically related to crane operations.

For instance, in 2006, the most recent year for which the BLS has extensive comparison data, 72 people died from crane-related work accidents. Our Houston fatal work injury lawyers explain that this number is down from an average of 78 fatal crane-related work accidents during the years 2003 through 2005. Some of the other BLS data indicates that:

• 30 of the fatal accidents resulted when falling objects struck workers. In 9 of these incidents, the crane itself struck the workers. In the other cases, an object falling from the crane struck the workers.
• In fatality cases where reports specified the type of crane involved, 19 deaths were due to overhead cranes, and 16 resulted from mobile, truck-, or rail-mounted cranes.
• Crane and tower crane operators accounted for only 3 of the work fatalities. Other workers such as welders and electricians on the job sites suffered the remainder of the fatal injuries.
• 2006 saw no multiple fatality crane-related accidents, unlike 2005, which had 6, and 2004, which had 8.
• In the years 2003 through 2006, the largest number of crane-related fealties, 42, occurred in Texas. Florida was next with 27 fatalities. California with 25 and Louisiana with 17 were next on the list.

While the annual numbers of fatal crane-related work accidents might seem miniscule compared to the numbers of fatal traffic-related accidents each year, that these accidents happen at all indicate a need for greater safety precautions and more stringent safety procedures at job sites using cranes to lift and move heavy objects.

Our Houston fatal work injury lawyers remind you that recent months saw a worker die in a tragic, fatal accident at the Houston Ship Channel when a moving crane trapped him underneath and severed his legs. These horrific accidents are 100% preventable with thorough training and safety procedures.

Where crane owners and job site supervisors fail to take proper safety precautions and prepare a safety plan and injury results, they deserve to be held financially accountable for the negligent oversights that caused harm to others. Learn what you need to do if you’ve been injured in a crane-related accident. Contact the Houston fatal work injury lawyers at Denena & Points today for a free legal consultation and learn more about your potential for a full financial recovery.