55
OCTOBER 2013
ACT
RISK MANAGEMENT
because the crane is charging by the hour,
and in an effort to save time, he doesn’t
secure the joists properly. As he slides along
the joist to catch the next load, the joist rolls
and he falls to his death. The estate sues
saying the crane company should have known
he didn’t have time to secure the joists in
the short time between loads.
■
SIGNALPERSON KILLED WHEN HE STEPS
OFF A ROOF.
Your crane operator is doing a
blind lift. The signalperson is standing atop
the edge of a roof and is not wearing fall
protection. He turns to watch where the
load is being landed and then steps back
off the edge of the roof, falling to his death.
His sues the crane company saying you
should have refused to do the lift if he wasn’t
wearing fall protection and you should have
honked your horn to warn him.
■
RIGGER HIT IN THE HEAD BY THE HEADACHE
BALL.
Your crane operator is performing
a blind lift atop a building and your oiler is
working as a signalperson. The operator
starts cabling down in turtle mode. The
rigger takes his eyes off the headache ball
and reaches in to disconnect the load before
it stops moving. He is hit in the head by the
headache ball then sues the crane company
saying the signalperson should have warned
him of the brightly colored headache ball just
a few inches away from his own eyes.
■
RIGGER SWINGS THE LOAD THAT SPINS
AND CRUSHES HIM.
A team of riggers is
landing a tilt wall. As the crane operator
lowers the load, it is off-center from its
landing spot so they push and pull on the
load to swing it into place. Unfortunately, a
wind comes up, the load starts to spin out of
control, pinning and crushing the rigger. The
rigger sues the crane company saying he
should have known the load was off-center,
should have warned him of the 20 mph wind
gust turning the tilt wall into a sail, should
have controlled the load from spinning, and
should have shut down the lift.
Take-aways
What are the takeaways from these
hypotheticals? First, when your salesman
bids a job or when dispatch takes the
taxi call, it’s important to ask if the
customer wants the crane company to
supply qualified riggers or signal people.
Tell them the price and note that it was
offered at “x” dollars per hour, and then
note whether those services were accepted
or rejected. Document the name of
the person who made that decision. In
our experience, there are significantly
less accidents when the riggers and
signal people are supplied by the crane
company. This seems to be because the
crane company employs qualified riggers,
because those riggers are more familiar
with crane operations, and because they
have extensive experience with that
particular crane operator.
Second, make sure your rental ticket
includes an indemnity clause enforceable
under your state’s anti-indemnity
statute. And, make sure it includes a
blanket Additional Insured requirement
wherein your customer names you as an
Additional Insured on the customer’s GL
policy. That way if their employee causes
his own injury, it is their GL policy who
will be defending you. NBIS’ Legal Team
reviews rental tickets for all companies
insured with us, applying the laws of
the particular state where you will be
performing work. An enforceable rental
ticket can save you from a $25 million
claim – even if you have some liability!
Third, document, document document!
This avoids getting into a “he said, she
said” situation after the accident. If it’s
in writing before the accident, it’s much
harder for people to deny what they told
you. For example, when participating in
pre-lift meetings, write down the name of
everyone and their role (supervisor, lift
director, rigger, master rigger/foreman).
Similarly, if a customer is using your
rigging equipment, ensure that you’ve
done a pre-lift inspection and ask the
customer to sign off on the condition of
the equipment being acceptable. If the
customer tells your operator or dispatcher
the maximum weight of the load, or what
load capacity crane/equipment they need,
make sure you write that down on the
rental ticket, bid or dispatch notes; and
make sure that load capacity is noted
for that specific rigging configuration. If
there are lifting instructions or lifting lugs
on a load, note that too.
Now get that rental ticket signed before
the accident occurs by someone with
supervisory responsibility at the site.
Don’t start a lift without a signature. A
signature after an accident is likely not
enforceable to protect you. And in many
states, the rental ticket must be signed
by both you and your customer to be
enforceable.
Fourth, if an accident does occur –
unless it’s a dangerous situation – don’t
move the crane, alter the accident
scene, nor do anything that destroys the
information in the LMI. If it’s a failure of
rigging equipment, take detailed photos
of that equipment in the exact position
on the load. Write down all the rigging
configurations, load capacities, etc. Make
immediate notes about who witnessed
the accident. Save the evidence as the
physical evidence at the scene often can
corroborate your operator’s version of the
facts and can impeach the testimony of
the injured party.
Fifth, consult with your carrier
immediately. The carrier should send
someone to document the scene but can
also assist you before you participate in
meetings with the customer or OSHA.
We want you to be prepared to outline the
responsibilities of each party under B30.
Be cautious about how much you put in
written statements or incident reports
until you talk to your carrier and/or
defense counsel.
In conclusion, both OSHA and NBIS
recognize that the most commonly
injured people on a crane and rigging job
are the riggers and signalmen. OSHA cites
employers for failing to provide qualified
riggers. But lack of qualifications isn’t
the only problem. We encourage you to
discuss the high incidence of injuries
to riggers and signalmen at one of your
future safety meetings. Emphasize how
your preparation and documentation –
both before and after an accident – can
help your carrier successfully defend you
when the riggers and signalmen cause
their own injuries.
■
1
Jim Maddux, OSHA’s Directorate of Construction.
correlation
THE AUTHOR
Michelle Lorenz
is
manager of litigation and
claims for NBIS.
