Chicago Crain Accident Attorneys: Crane Regulation Needed to Prevent Construction Crane Accidents

According to an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimate, there are 96,000 construction cranes in the United States. While much of the construction industry falls under tight regulation controlled by local, state, or federal oversight, the area of construction crane industry falls under an anomalous regulatory scheme involving various jurisdictions.

The current regulatory regime for crane safety was created by OSHA in 1971. The regulations provide requirements for the crane’s maintenance, record keeping and inspections which are required annually. However, these same regulations do not outline enforcement procedures to ensure the crane owner’s compliance. At this writing, new draft regulations that would update OSHA’s crane rules are proposed, but there is no firm timetable for their enactment. Construction cranes can be a towering hazard at construction sites potentially endangering both operators and construction workers.

Lack of Crane Regulation

The absence of coordinated and stringent oversight is all too tangible in the grim construction crane fatality statistics: an average of 81 crane-related deaths from 1997-2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). A recent Associated Press study that focused on construction crane accidents and regulation revealed some sobering insights. The study’s most salient revelation was the fact that in 35 states crane operators are not required to obtain any type of license for operation.

Clifford Law Offices has Experienced Construction Crane Accident Attorneys

Clifford Law Offices has been representing the victims of construction accidents for decades. For example, the crane accident law firm represents the family of a construction worker who was killed in 2005 when part of a building collapsed under the weight of concrete slabs being installed by a crane. The New Lenox electrician and father of three small children was killed. The construction accident lawyers also represent the family of a woman who was killed when a commuter train struck and killed her in 2005 at tracks that were under construction. The Oak Park bicyclist was beckoned by a railroad employee to cross the tracks when, in fact, a construction crane blocked the biker’s view. She was unable to see an express train hurtling down a third set of tracks and it killed her. The combined experience of the attorneys adds up to hundreds of years of wrongful death and personal injury work. A Clifford Law Offices’ construction crane attorney examines the cause of the accident. It can be an issue of faulty design or construction, improper maintenance, inadequate or negligent inspection. The construction crane accident law firm will also examine the victims’ losses that include medical expenses, lost wages, future earnings, future medical care, pain and suffering, grief, sorrow and mental suffering, loss of quality of life and other possible damage claims.

The lawyers at the firm embrace the theory that those responsible for construction crane accidents must be held accountable for their negligent actions. Clifford Law Offices represents victims’ families and gets the answers they deserve. Please call Clifford Law Offices, experienced construction crane accident attorneys and unsafe premises attorneys at 866-896-6896 or 312-899-9090 in the Chicago area.

Accolades for Clifford Law Offices

Clifford Law Offices received national first-tier rankings in Plaintiffs' Product Liability Litigation in the 2010 U.S. News-Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" Guide. Thousands of clients and law firms were surveyed by U.S. News-Best Lawyers. This is the first time that a national ranking has been compiled and it was featured in the October print issue of U.S. News & World Report. Robert Clifford, senior and name partner at the firm, was named the 2009 Best Lawyers' Top Personal Injury Attorney in Chicago. The firm also received Metropolitan First-Tier rankings in Plaintiffs' Personal Injury Litigation, Plaintiffs' Product Liability Litigation and Plaintiffs' Medical Malpractice Law in what some have called the most comprehensive view of the U.S. legal profession. Thousands of law firms and clients were surveyed. Robert Clifford has been named a Best Lawyer since the publication's inception in 1983. Kevin Durkin and Keith Hebeisen, partners at the firm, were named Best Lawyers in the 2011 edition. Robert A. Clifford was selected in 2004 as one of the "five most respected and feared plaintiffs' attorneys" in the country by Corporate Legal Times, calling him "the best of the bad." The National Law Journal named Mr. Clifford's firm on the "Plaintiffs' Hot List: 20 Go-To Teams" in 2004 and one of the top 25 firms in 2003. The publication also named Robert Clifford one of the Top Ten Litigators in Illinois as well as one of the nation's Top Ten Litigators. American Lawyer Media recognized Mr. Clifford as one of the Top Ten Most Influential Lawyers in Illinois in 2000. He has consistently been voted by his peers as one of the Best Lawyers in America , and he was named one of Chicago's "30 Toughest Lawyers" by Chicago Magazine in 2002. He was selected to be a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group of 100 trial lawyers from around the country. 

Construction crane attorneys and lawyers with Clifford Law Offices are experienced with representing victims of construction crane accidents.