Crane Cable Snaps Dropping Debris Throughout Seattle Construction Zone

Earlier this month, at a construction site near Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA, a crane cable snapped dropping debris throughout the construction zone and onto a passerby’s bicycle.  Amazingly, no one was hurt during the process, however, it was reported by a local union that the construction area had unsafe worker conditions.  The “construction began last year on the eight-story building, which will include about 150 apartments above retail shops.” 

Catherine Miller, the owner of a nearby store, told press that the construction crew “really dodged a bullet.”  The materials that were dropped from the snapped cable crashed through the top floor and were scattered around the facilities.  The Washington Department of Labor and Industries have opened an investigation and have brought in a crane specialist to further analyze the situation; the department claims that it can take up to six months to officially determine what happened to the crane. 

Pedro Espinoza, “a senior organizer for the local carpenters’ union, said the union already had been protesting safety standards and other concerns at the job site before the crane accident…  Workers had picketed with signs a couple times in March.”  He continued to report that many of the workers have not been trained with any safety precautions and claims the workers are, “basically left on their own.” 

Working in construction can be very dangerous.  According to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, a total of 70 people have died “on the job in Washington state in 2015,” nine of which were working construction.  In addition, the injury rate of full time construction workers in the state of Washington was doubled in comparison to the national rate.

GLP Attorneys has a large amount of experience in dealing with construction injuries.  Our Construction Injuries page goes into detail on topics like who to file a claim against after injury, seeking medical treatment, opening an L&I claim, and more. Please call or email any one of our 8 locations if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.  

For more information, follow the link below:

Source: http://www.lni.wa.gov/ClaimsIns/Files/DataStatistics/blsi/FATAL2015CFOIWA.pdf

Source: http://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/crane-mishap-sends-debris-crashing-through-seattle-construction-site-where-workers-had-raised-safety-concerns/