Seven Injured in Crane Collapse in Long Island City, Queens
By: Robert P. Valletti, Esq.
On Wednesday afternoon, a 380 foot mobile crane collapsed onto a Queens construction site along 46th avenue and Center Boulevard. The crane is owned by “New York Crane”, a company owned by James Lomma who was recently acquitted of criminally negligent homicide charges stemming from another crane collapse which occurred in 2008 on the Upper East Side that killed two workers.
The crane had been erected just four days earlier and was a “Manitowoc 4100W trailer crane. A driver on site told reporters that workers were loading the crane with wood planks when the accident occurred. The crane was stationed at ground level and not lashed to a building.
Upon it collapsed, the crane fell over and on top of the building that was being constructed, which is the last of a series of luxury towers that were recently built on the Queens West site. Three workers were trapped under the heavy metal apparatus, but amazingly there were no life-threatening injuries.
There will undoubtedly be lawsuits initiated over this incident, which will fall under the New York Labor Laws, most likely including §§200, 240(1) and 241(6). The suits will most likely allege gravity related injuries due to the falling apparatus, as well as improper maintenance of equipment and failure to ensure a safe workplace.
If you have been injured while working at a construction site, call the Construction Site Accident Attorneys at 1-888-GINARTE today. You may be entitled to money for your injuries. We have experienced Construction Site Accident attorneys ready to get started on your case today. Put our 150 years of combined experience to work for you!
