Stuart D. Morse & Associates, L.L.C

Stuart D. Morse & Associates, L.L.C
Stuart D. Morse & Associates, L.L.C
Colorado Insurance Defense And Business Litigation Attorneys

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Cranes pose a special concern, risk in the construction industry

On Behalf of | Aug 16, 2017 | Construction Litigation |

It’s not so much what they do in the air as it is the fact of getting there.

Although that above — and, yes, purposefully poetic — prelude to crane operation in the construction industry might seem a bit misplaced, industry principals are in staunch agreement that, when employed properly and safely, cranes are in fact poetry in motion on most job sites.

Here’s a problem, though: It’s not routinely all upside with crane operation, with that above-cited “fact of getting there” often posing special problems of outsized concern.

As noted in a recent Claims Journal article on construction site crane operation, attendant risks and liability concerns, “getting cranes on and off the job site is the riskiest time when losses occur.”

Our readers across Colorado fully understand why that is the case, we know. Cranes — and we’re talking mobile vehicles here — are behemoths. They are unwieldy. They pose special driving challenges in the best of weather and road conditions.

Insurers, construction contractors and subcontractors know well how painstaking the effort must be to keep things safe during every second of a crane’s operation. The Journal article notes that a mobile crane takes “about double the amount of time to stop than a fully loaded tractor trailer.” A crane mishap can injure other drivers and onsite employees, as well as cause extensive property damage.

Loss costs understandably “run high,” states the Journal, given that juries often sympathize inherently and quickly in personal injury and damage cases, especially when a human victim is involved.

Questions or concerns regarding any aspect of crane operation and/or liability can be addressed to an experienced Colorado construction litigation attorney.