Vident Partners provides vetted crane and hoist expert witnesses for cases involving dropped loads, tip-overs, power line contact, operator qualification, rigging failures, ground conditions, and OSHA Subpart CC compliance. Request a referral today.
Find a Cranes, Hoists & Lifts Expert →Overview
A crane and hoist expert decides why a lift went wrong and who controlled the conditions that caused it: the operator, the rigger, the employer, the site controller or the equipment owner. Crane failures tend to involve several hands, so the core work is sorting duties across parties. This page covers cranes, derricks, hoists and lifting practice. General site safety belongs to a construction safety expert, a fall from height to a fall protection expert, and a structural collapse of the building being worked on to a structural engineer. Crane accident cases often overlap with those, so each expert should keep to their part.
The expert reads the lift plan, load charts, operator certifications and employer evaluations, inspection records, rigging data, ground bearing information, the crane's onboard data if it has any, and daily reports. The first step is usually to rebuild the configuration at the time of the failure: boom length, radius, counterweight and load. A load chart only means something for that exact configuration.
OSHA's Subpart CC applies to power-operated equipment, when used in construction, that can hoist, lower and horizontally move a suspended load 1. The rule includes articulating and crawler cranes among others 1, and its limits are often disputed: whether a machine is covered, or whether the task was construction at all. Work outside construction may fall under the general industry rules, so the first question is which standard applied.
Ground failures are a place where duty can move away from the crane company. Equipment must not be assembled or used unless ground conditions are firm, drained and graded enough, with supporting materials if needed, to meet the manufacturer's specifications 2. The controlling entity must ensure ground preparations are made and must inform the parties of hazards beneath the surface that are identified in documents in its possession or otherwise known to it 2. So a buried tank or void can shift the fight onto the general contractor's knowledge and records.
Power line contact has a defined approach. The employer must determine whether any part of the equipment, load or rigging, if operated up to the maximum working radius in the work zone, could get closer than 20 feet to a power line, and if so must use one of three listed options, starting with deenergizing and grounding 3. Where encroachment precautions apply, a planning meeting with the operator and other workers is part of the rule 3. Swing radius is the other recurring hazard. Where the rotating superstructure poses a reasonably foreseeable risk of striking or pinching an employee, the rule's precautions apply 6.
The pattern in fatal injuries is consistent with this. BLS reported 297 crane-related deaths from 2011 through 2017, an average of 42 per year, and just over half involved a worker being struck by an object or equipment 7. That data covers workers, not the public, and it is now several years old.
The operator's qualification is usually the first document requested. The employer must ensure each operator is trained, certified or licensed, and evaluated before operating covered equipment 4. Certification alone is not enough. Through an evaluation, the employer must ensure the operator shows the skills, knowledge and ability to recognize and avert risk that are needed for the equipment, including its safety devices, operational aids and size and configuration 4. That means two different records, and a fight over whether an evaluation really happened.
Inspection records matter too. A competent person must begin a visual inspection prior to each shift the equipment will be used 5. The rule also calls for monthly and annual or comprehensive inspections and requires documentation of the annual inspection 5. A shift inspection that looks like a signature on a form may not stand up against wear found after the failure. Wire rope, in particular, may tell its own story, so it should be saved for examination.
Look for a person with hands-on operating and lift planning experience on the same class of crane, or an engineer who has worked in crane design, inspection or failure analysis. Operator certifications and inspector credentials are relevant, but ask what class of machine they cover. A rigging specialist may be needed where the sling or hitch failed. A mechanical engineer or metallurgist should examine failed components, and a safety expert can address the employer's overall program.
Before work begins, the employer must determine whether any part of the equipment, load or rigging could get closer than 20 feet to a power line.
Case Types
Crane tip-overs and boom collapses
Dropped loads and rigging failures
Power line contact and electrocution
Operator qualification and evaluation disputes
Ground failure and outrigger collapses
Swing radius crush injuries
Hoist and personnel lift failures
Disputes among crane owners, general contractors and subcontractors
Qualifications
Related Specialties
FAQ
Look for hands-on operating and lift planning experience on the same class of machine, or an engineer with crane design, inspection or failure analysis work. Operator and inspector credentials help, but check what class of equipment they cover. A rigging failure may need a rigging specialist as well.
Not by itself. The rule requires the employer to ensure each operator is trained, certified or licensed, and evaluated. Through the evaluation, the employer must ensure the operator shows the skills, knowledge and ability to recognize and avert risk needed for the specific equipment.
The rule places duties on the controlling entity to ensure ground preparations are made and to share hazards it knows about or holds in its documents. If no controlling entity exists, the duty shifts as the rule describes. Contract terms can also matter, so the expert reads both.
The employer must determine whether any part of the equipment, load or rigging could get closer than 20 feet to a power line if operated up to its maximum working radius in the work zone. If so, the employer must use one of three listed options, the first being to deenergize and ground the line.
A competent person must begin a visual inspection prior to each shift the equipment will be used. The rule also calls for monthly and annual or comprehensive inspections, and the annual inspection must be documented. An expert compares those records with the condition of the failed equipment.
In general, crane and hoist expert fees are determined by the expert themselves, based on a variety of criteria. Among those criteria are operating experience, engineering credentials, testimony history and the volume of records to review. Vident does have some influence over expert fees by comparing experts within a specialty, but ultimately it is a personal decision by the expert.
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