In May 2008, a construction crane located in Manhattan’s Upper East Side collapsed, killing two workers. What came to light later was the fact that the crane’s owner knew about the malfunctioning crane and skimped on an essential repair job. Prosecutors are now calling the construction accident a crime; the owner went on trial this past Tuesday for manslaughter.
One of the deceased workers was only two weeks from his wedding day; the other was pulled from the construction accident wreckage with severe injuries, then died a few hours later as doctors attempted to save him. Prosecutors state that the 200-foot crane snapped because a weld in a crucial component failed – one that he owner had gotten repaired “on the cheap.”
Defense experts assert that the crane collapsed because it was pulled up too high, calling the broken weld a consequence of the collapse itself – not the cause. But prosecutors insist that the owner and his mechanic hired a Chinese company online to do the work, failing to take necessary steps to ensure their repair was good enough. A company representative even warned the owner in an email that the company “did not have confidence in this welding.”
If you have been seriously injured, or if your loved one has been killed in a construction accident, please contact the experienced New York construction accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Marc S. Albert today for a free initial consultation.
