MR. Crane, Inc.: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Dec 26, 2007: Employee's arm fractured in fall when crane overturns

On December 26, 2007, Employee #1 was operating a P&H Lattice truck-mounted boom crane, model #9150, serial #51529. He had completed work at a tilt-up panel com mercial construction job in Monrovia, CA, and was dismantling the crane for trav el. Previously, he had unmounted a rear counterweight and set it on a flatbed tr uck on one side of the site. This was necessary because the crane had become stu ck in the mud that formed after several days of heavy rain. To remove the counte rweight, the crane had been jacked up and plywood placed under the wheels to fre e the crane. Employee #1 then moved the crane to the other side of the site to u nload a spreader bar and associated rigging onto another flatbed. He did not set the outriggers before starting this job. Employee #1 then tried to "get a bette r look" at the position of the second flatbed truck, which apparently had pulled up farther than he had anticipated. He started to swing the crane to the left a nd also to boom up on the tires when the crane began to tip. Employee #1 attempt ed to jump free of the crane as it was going over and suffered a fractured right arm. He was transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital for treatment. Employee #1 later stated that he felt he had been in error because he should have set th e outriggers before starting the task underway at the time of the accident.

Incident on May 7, 2006: Ironworker amputates leg when caught by crane cable

On May 7, 2006, Employee #1 and two coworkers were dismantling a tower crane, wh en an accident occurred. There were two employers involved in the accident. One was the "exposing" employer, which erected and dismantled the crane. The other w as the "creating" or "correcting" employer. It owned the crane and provided tech nical assistance for the erection and dismantling procedures. Employee #1 and th e first coworker were employed as ironworkers by the crane erection company, the "exposing" employer, at the time of the accident. Although Employee #1 was an e xperienced tilt-up construction rigger, the day of the accident was his first da y working on a tower crane. Employee #1 and the first coworker were helping the second coworker, a technician from the crane owner, coil up a disconnected troll ey line. The trolley line was a 0.625-inch diameter wire rope cable weighing 0.7 2 pounds per linear foot. The line had been disconnected from the trolley, which was retracted as close to the operator's cab as possible, and the line was susp ended along the bottom of the crane jib via a 16-gauge double-looped wire at 13 to 19 foot intervals. The crane was a Model Number 630-ECH-H20 Liebherr with a 2 67-foot jib and Serial Number LE43806. It was 262 feet high. It was unusual in t hat the trolley drum had an auxiliary storage drum attached to the trolley drum. The crane manufacturer's manual said that this drum was for rereeving the loose ned trolley line. During the dismantling of the trolley line, a special-size All en wrench was required to release the storage drum. The technician for the crane owner company stated in an interview that he did not have the tool with him at that moment and that it was down in his truck. It is unclear from statements giv en to DOSH from the witnesses whether the technician offered to get the wrench o r elected to coil the trolley line without the storage drum. It was established that the technician did begin coiling the trolley line on a floor plate in front of the trolley line, while being fed line by one of the ironworkers, either Emp loyee #1 or the first coworker, working down the jib. Employee #1 had finished s ecuring the dogged-off trolley with two slings and was standing on an elevated p latform adjacent to the trolley drum, when the wire rope came loose from its coi l and began to run down the jib. One of the coils of the wire rope ensnared Empl oyee #1's ankle as it was falling down the jib and amputated his lower left leg. He was hospitalized.