$150 million (!!!) in damages awarded for Seattle crane collapse
Jul 14, 2022
From an article published in Weekender Magazine
By: Itzik Simon
A U.S. court has ruled that three companies must pay approximately $150 million in compensation to the families of victims of a deadly crane collapse in 2019 during the construction of a Google project in Seattle. The tragic incident injured three people and killed four, including a 71-year-old local government employee and a 19-year-old student.
The jury found that the companies were negligent for ignoring the manufacturer’s instructions to dismantle the crane by removing nearly all pins and tower sleeves simultaneously. The allocation of liability was determined as follows: 45% to the company responsible for erecting and dismantling the crane, 30% to the subcontractor of the mobile cranes, and 25% to the crane owner.
From an article published in WEEKENDER magazine
By: Itzick Simon
A US court has ruled that three companies will pay compensation totaling approximately $150 million to families of victims of a fatal crane collapse in 2019 at a Google construction project in Seattle. An unfortunate incident in which three people were injured and four were killed. Among them was a 71-year-old local government employee and a 19-year-old student.
The jury found that the companies were negligent in disregarding the manufacturer’s instructions for dismantling the crane by removing almost all of the tower’s pins and sleeves at the same time. The division of damages was determined as follows: – 45% of the blame was placed on the company responsible for erecting and dismantling the crane, 30% on the mobile crane subcontractor and 25% on the crane owner.
Not only in the US
In Israel, a tower crane is defined in a number of legislative provisions, primarily in the Occupational Safety Regulations (Tower Cranes), 5727-1966, and in the Occupational Safety Regulations (Cranes, Other Lifting Machinery Factories, etc.), 5753-1992.
Cranes in Israel rise to a height of at least 30 meters above the ground and can even reach a height of tens of meters. Sometimes the crane is not attached to the ground but to a structure ("climbs") and its height increases according to the progress of construction.
Crane accidents unfortunately occur far too frequently on construction sites in Israel. Many steps are being taken to combat the phenomenon, and in 2021, the "Association of Tower Crane Companies" was established for the first time within the Association of Chambers of Commerce.
This is not a trivial matter, but the need of the hour. A survey published in early 2020 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that approximately 77% of crane operators in Israel have had at least one "near-accident" and 35% have actually been involved in work accidents in which a worker was injured. Link to article
In Israel, a tower crane is defined in several pieces of legislation, primarily in the Safety at Work Regulations (Tower Cranes), 1967, and in the Safety at Work Regulations (Crane Operators, Other Lifting Machinery Plants and Slingers), 1993.
Tower cranes in Israel typically rise to a height of at least about 30 meters above ground level and can reach heights of several tens of meters. In some cases, the crane is not anchored to the ground but rather attached to a structure (“climbing” crane), and its height increases as construction progresses.
Unfortunately, crane accidents occur far too frequently at construction sites in Israel. As part of the effort to combat this phenomenon, numerous measures have been taken, and in 2021 the “Tower Crane Companies Association” was established for the first time within the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce.
This is not a trivial matter but an urgent necessity. A survey published in early 2020 by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Hygiene found that approximately 77% of crane operators in Israel had experienced at least one “near-miss” situation, and 35% had actually been involved in work accidents in which a worker was injured. Link to the article.
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