A+ rating on Better Business Bureau•Google reviews: 5.0•Martindale Hubbell Client Rating: 5.0•Lawyers.com Client Rating: 5.0•Avvo Client Rating: 5.0•Facebook Rating 5.0•Best Dog Bite Lawyers – Queens, NY (2025) (Expertise.com)•Best Bicycle Accident Lawyers – Queens, NY (2025) (Expertise.com)•Best Car Accident Lawyers – Middletown, NY (2025) (Expertise.com)•A+ rating on Better Business Bureau•Google reviews: 5.0•Martindale Hubbell Client Rating: 5.0•Lawyers.com Client Rating: 5.0•Avvo Client Rating: 5.0•Facebook Rating 5.0•Best Dog Bite Lawyers – Queens, NY (2025) (Expertise.com)•Best Bicycle Accident Lawyers – Queens, NY (2025) (Expertise.com)•Best Car Accident Lawyers – Middletown, NY (2025) (Expertise.com)

Crane Collapse Injuries Lawyer in Rome, NY

Construction Accident Recovery

Your Guide to Crane Collapse Claims

Crane collapse incidents can cause life-altering injuries and complex legal issues for people injured on construction sites in Rome, New York. The Ahearne Law Firm PLLC helps injured workers and bystanders understand their rights and options after a collapse, working to protect medical and financial interests while pursuing fair compensation. Allan J. Ahearne, Jr. and the firm focus on prompt investigation, careful evaluation of liability, and clear communication with clients. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a crane failure, calling the firm at (845) 986-2777 can help you begin documenting your case and preserving critical evidence.

A crane collapse claim often involves multiple parties, including contractors, subcontractors, equipment manufacturers, and property owners, and that creates a web of liability that must be unraveled to recover damages. Early action to obtain medical treatment, preserve evidence, and document the scene can make a significant difference in the outcome of any claim. The firm assists clients with gathering records, arranging medical follow-up, and communicating with insurers to protect interests while an investigation proceeds. Understanding how state law and workplace compensation rules interact is essential to pursuing the full range of recovery options available in Oneida County and across New York.

Why Acting Quickly Matters After a Crane Collapse

Acting quickly after a crane collapse preserves evidence and creates a clear record of injuries and losses, which supports claims for compensation. Prompt investigation can identify responsible parties and dangerous conditions, while early medical documentation ties treatment to the incident and helps quantify future care needs. Timely steps also reduce the chance that witnesses become unavailable or that physical evidence degrades. The Ahearne Law Firm PLLC works to coordinate immediate actions that protect clients’ legal positions while ensuring they receive necessary care and support during recovery and claim preparation.

About Ahearne Law Firm and Allan J. Ahearne, Jr.

Ahearne Law Firm PLLC serves clients in Rome, Oneida County, and the broader Hudson Valley area, focusing on personal injury matters that include construction accidents and crane collapses. Allan J. Ahearne, Jr. leads the firm’s efforts to evaluate liability, coordinate with investigators and medical providers, and pursue compensation through negotiation or litigation when necessary. The practice emphasizes responsive client service, clear fee arrangements on a contingency basis, and practical problem solving to reduce stress for injured people and their families while claims are developed and advanced.

Understanding Crane Collapse Injury Claims

Crane collapse claims arise when a lifting operation fails and people on or near the site suffer harm. These matters frequently involve a combination of construction law, product liability, premises liability, and workplace rules. Investigators look for equipment defects, maintenance shortcomings, operator actions, load calculations, site conditions, and contract-related responsibilities. Identifying witnesses, preserving inspection and maintenance logs, and securing photographs of the scene are essential elements of building a claim that assigns responsibility to the appropriate parties under New York law.

Resolving a crane collapse matter typically follows an investigative phase to establish liability, then proceeds to value the damages, which may include medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and future care needs. The process can include negotiations with insurers, coordination with medical providers about liens and records, and, when necessary, filing lawsuits to protect legal rights. Each case is shaped by the specific facts, such as whether the incident involved a third party contractor or a workplace covered by workers’ compensation rules, and careful planning helps preserve all available recovery avenues.

Need More Information?

Key Terms and Glossary

Third-Party Claim

A third-party claim is a legal claim brought against someone other than the injured person’s employer after a workplace incident. In crane collapse cases, injured workers may be entitled to pursue a third-party claim against contractors, equipment manufacturers, or property owners whose negligence or defective products contributed to the accident. Third-party recovery operates alongside or in addition to workers’ compensation benefits in many instances, and understanding how to coordinate both types of claims is important for securing compensation beyond what workplace benefits alone may provide.

Workers' Compensation

Workers’ compensation provides no-fault benefits for medical care and partial wage replacement to employees who are injured on the job, and it applies to many construction site injuries, including some crane collapse cases. Because workers’ compensation typically limits litigation against an employer, injured workers may still pursue separate claims against non-employer parties whose actions contributed to the collapse. Knowing how workers’ compensation interacts with other claims helps ensure that medical bills, lost wages, and long-term care needs are addressed through the appropriate legal avenues.

Negligence

Negligence is the legal standard that asks whether a party failed to act with reasonable care, and whether that failure caused harm. In crane collapse matters, negligence can arise from improper assembly, negligent maintenance, operator error, overloaded lifts, or unsafe site practices. To succeed on a negligence claim, injured people must show that a duty existed, that the duty was breached, that the breach caused the collapse and injuries, and that damages resulted. Establishing causation and connecting actions to specific losses is a central focus of these investigations.

Product Liability

Product liability refers to claims against manufacturers, distributors, or sellers when a defective product causes injury. In the context of crane collapses, product liability may apply if a crane component, hoist, cable, or safety device failed because of a design or manufacturing defect, improper warning, or defective part. These claims can involve technical examinations, expert engineering analysis, and a careful review of maintenance and inspection histories to determine whether a defect played a role in the incident and whether the manufacturer or supplier bears legal responsibility for resulting damages.

PRO TIPS

Preserve Evidence Immediately

After a crane collapse, take steps to preserve physical and documentary evidence while following safety directions from emergency responders and medical personnel. Photographs, witness contact information, equipment serial numbers, and any visible damage can be essential to establishing what happened, and prompt collection of these items reduces the chance they are altered or lost. Notifying the firm early helps coordinate preservation efforts, collection of inspection and maintenance logs, and outreach to potential witnesses in a way that safeguards relevant materials for later review.

Seek Prompt Medical Attention

Getting medical care immediately after a crane collapse is important for both health and legal reasons, because records created by treating providers document injuries and link treatment to the incident. Even injuries that seem moderate at first can lead to complications, and early assessment helps plan rehabilitation and long-term care. Timely medical documentation also supports claims for compensation, as clear treatment timelines and records are used to demonstrate the nature and extent of injuries and the necessity of recommended future care.

Document the Scene

When it is safe to do so, use a phone or camera to record the incident location, visible damage, skid marks, and any equipment involved, but do so only if emergency responders and safety officials permit it. Detailed notes about weather, lighting, and witness statements can help investigators reconstruct the event later. These contemporaneous records, combined with official reports, form the factual foundation used to identify liable parties and to calculate damages for medical costs, lost income, and long-term needs.

Comparing Legal Options After a Crane Collapse

When Comprehensive Representation Is Helpful:

Complex Liability Issues

When responsibility for a crane collapse is spread among contractors, subcontractors, equipment vendors, and property owners, a broad approach is often necessary to identify all potential sources of recovery and to coordinate claims against multiple parties. Investigations may require engineering analysis, review of contracts and inspection records, and witness interviews to determine fault, and those tasks benefit from organized legal oversight. Comprehensive representation helps manage these layers of complexity, ensuring that all relevant avenues for compensation are pursued while protecting the client’s legal position throughout the process.

Multiple Potential Defendants

When several entities may share responsibility, a coordinated legal response helps prevent conflicting statements and ensures evidence is gathered against the correct parties, reducing the risk of missed recovery opportunities. Identifying and asserting claims against manufacturers, contractors, and third parties requires strategic investigation and careful allocation of resources, including working with accident reconstruction professionals. That level of coordination supports clear presentation of damages and liability and can strengthen negotiation leverage with insurers representing different defendants.

When a Narrow Approach May Be Adequate:

Clear Liability and Minor Injuries

In situations where liability is indisputable and injuries are relatively minor with straightforward medical expenses, a focused effort to document treatment and present a claim to the insurer may resolve the matter quickly without extensive investigation. A narrow approach can reduce costs and avoid protracted litigation when all parties agree about responsibility and damages. Even in these scenarios, careful documentation of medical treatment, lost wages, and any ongoing needs helps ensure a fair and timely resolution.

Fast Insurance Settlements Possible

Some incidents result in prompt offers from insurers where payment of medical bills and lost income compensates for the measurable harm and further negotiation is unnecessary. When settlement offers are timely and clearly cover documented damages and future needs, accepting a reasonable resolution can be efficient for the injured person. Determining whether a settlement offer truly reflects the full value of a claim requires careful assessment of future care, potential complications, and any non-economic damages that may not be immediately obvious.

Common Crane Collapse Scenarios

Construction Site Failures

Crane collapses on construction sites can result from improper setup, inadequate ground support, or failures in load management, and these incidents often involve several parties whose practices contributed to unsafe conditions. When such failures cause injuries, building a claim requires collecting site plans, daily logs, and testimony from on-site personnel while coordinating medical care and documentation for the injured person.

Maintenance and Inspection Lapses

Inadequate maintenance, missed inspections, or ignored warning signs can lead to catastrophic equipment failure, and establishing a pattern of neglect can support claims against owners or maintenance providers. Evidence of skipped inspections, incomplete repair records, or failed parts found in post-incident testing often plays a central role in proving that the collapse was preventable and that responsible parties should answer for medical and other damages.

Operator Error and Load Issues

Operator mistakes, miscommunications, or overloaded lifts may directly cause a collapse, and determining whether those actions reflect negligence or training failures requires review of training records and lift plans. When operator conduct is implicated, claims may focus on whether employers enforced safe procedures and whether contractors oversaw proper planning and supervision.

Rome Crane Collapse Injury Attorney

Why Choose Ahearne Law Firm for Crane Collapse Claims

Ahearne Law Firm PLLC brings local knowledge of Rome and Oneida County procedures, access to investigators and medical consultants, and a commitment to keeping clients informed throughout the claims process. The firm handles coordination with medical providers, negotiates with insurers, and pursues claims against all responsible parties while offering contingency fee arrangements that align financial incentives with client recovery. Practical, client-focused representation aims to reduce the administrative burden on injured people and their families while building a claim that seeks full compensation for medical care, lost income, and related losses.

Clients working with the firm receive individualized attention to evaluate case value, preserve evidence, and develop a strategic plan for recovery. That includes arranging for independent investigations, communicating with treating providers about documentation and liens, and preparing claims for negotiation or court when necessary. The firm emphasizes clear communication, timely updates, and practical guidance about options so that injured people can make informed decisions about pursuing recovery while focusing on healing and rehabilitation.

Start Your Case Review

People Also Search For

crane collapse lawyer Rome NY

crane collapse injuries Rome

construction accident attorney Rome

crane accident claim Oneida County

personal injury crane collapse New York

crane collapse lawsuit Hudson Valley

Rome NY construction injury lawyer

crane accident legal help New York

FAQS

What should I do immediately after a crane collapse injury?

Seek medical attention right away, even if injuries initially seem minor, because prompt treatment both protects your health and creates medical records that link care to the incident. If emergency responders are present, follow their directions and notify them about symptoms, and keep copies of all medical reports, imaging, and prescriptions that document your condition and treatment needs. Whenever it is safe and appropriate, document the scene with photographs and collect contact information for witnesses, but follow directions from safety personnel before doing so. Notify the Ahearne Law Firm PLLC early so the firm can advise on preserving evidence, request inspection and maintenance records, and coordinate communications while protecting your legal interests and documenting the full scope of damages related to the collapse.

Can I pursue compensation if I was injured while working on a crane site?

If you were injured while working at a crane site, you may have access to workers’ compensation benefits for medical expenses and partial wage replacement, which can provide immediate financial support during recovery. Those benefits often apply regardless of fault, but workers’ compensation does not always provide full compensation for pain and suffering or losses caused by third-party negligence. You may also be able to pursue a third-party claim against contractors, equipment manufacturers, property owners, or others whose actions contributed to the collapse. Coordinating workers’ compensation benefits with third-party claims requires careful handling to protect recovery and address medical liens and subrogation interests, and early legal guidance helps preserve those options.

Who can be held responsible for a crane collapse?

Responsibility for a crane collapse can rest with a range of parties, including the crane operator, the operator’s employer, general contractors, subcontractors, equipment manufacturers, maintenance providers, and property owners, depending on the facts. Each potential defendant is evaluated based on duties owed, actions taken or omitted, and how those actions contributed to the collapse and resulting injuries. Investigators look at maintenance histories, inspection logs, operator training, load plans, and any equipment defects to allocate fault among parties. Identifying the responsible entities often requires technical analysis and records review, and pursuing claims against multiple defendants can increase the chances of recovering full compensation for medical costs, lost wages, and other damages.

How long do I have to file a claim after a crane collapse in New York?

In New York, the time to file a personal injury lawsuit is governed by the statute of limitations, which typically provides three years from the date of the injury for most negligence claims, though there are exceptions that may shorten or extend that period depending on the circumstances. It is important to act promptly because evidence can be lost and witness memories can fade, both of which can affect the strength of a claim. Workers’ compensation claims have their own timeframes for notice and filing that must also be respected to preserve benefits. Early consultation with a lawyer helps ensure that all applicable deadlines are identified and met, allowing injured people to preserve their rights and pursue the full range of available recoveries.

Will workers' compensation prevent me from suing for a crane collapse injury?

Workers’ compensation provides important no-fault benefits for workplace injuries, but it does not necessarily bar claims against third parties whose negligence contributed to a crane collapse. While workers’ compensation is often the primary remedy against an employer, third-party claims can seek additional compensation for pain and suffering, future care, and other losses not covered by workers’ benefits. Coordinating a third-party claim with workers’ compensation involves addressing potential offsets and liens, and it may require negotiation with insurers and health providers to resolve claims equitably. Legal counsel can help navigate these interactions to maximize net recovery for the injured person while complying with statutory obligations and benefit rules.

What types of damages can I recover after a crane collapse?

Damages recoverable after a crane collapse may include past and future medical expenses, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and expenses for long-term care or rehabilitation when needed. The specific value of a claim depends on the severity of injuries, expected recovery trajectory, and how injuries impact daily life and employment. Non-economic damages such as loss of enjoyment of life and mental anguish are also considered under personal injury law, and claims may include compensation for these harms when supported by medical and factual records. Proper documentation of all losses is essential to presenting a complete and persuasive claim for full compensation.

How is fault determined in a crane collapse case?

Fault in a crane collapse case is determined by investigating conduct, equipment condition, maintenance practices, training, and supervision to see which parties failed to meet reasonable standards of care. Engineers, safety consultants, and accident reconstruction professionals often analyze what occurred and provide opinions about causes, but legal proof depends on assembling records, witness statements, and other direct evidence linking actions to the collapse. Comparative negligence principles may apply in some cases, so courts assess each party’s degree of fault and may reduce a recovery proportionally if the injured person bears some responsibility. Understanding how these rules apply requires careful review of the facts and strategic presentation of liability evidence to protect client interests.

What evidence is most important in a crane collapse investigation?

Important evidence in crane collapse investigations includes equipment maintenance and inspection logs, operator training records, lift plans, photographs and video of the scene, witness statements, and any available communications about load handling or site conditions. Physical evidence from damaged components can be tested to reveal defects or failures, and contemporaneous documentation helps establish timelines and responsibilities. Medical records and treatment notes are also critical to show causation and quantify damages by tying injuries and ongoing care needs to the incident. Preserving this evidence early and arranging for appropriate expert review strengthens the ability to demonstrate liability and damages in settlement discussions or at trial if necessary.

How long does it take to resolve a crane collapse injury claim?

The time required to resolve a crane collapse injury claim varies widely based on the complexity of liability, the extent of injuries, and whether multiple parties are involved. Some claims settle in a matter of months when liability is clear and damages are well documented, while others with disputed fault, complex investigations, or severe injuries can take a year or longer to reach resolution through negotiation or litigation. Preparing a case for settlement or lawsuit involves evidence gathering, medical documentation, and sometimes engineering analysis, all of which take time. Ongoing communication with clients about realistic timelines and milestones helps set expectations and allows informed decision making throughout the process.

How can the Ahearne Law Firm help with my crane collapse case?

The Ahearne Law Firm PLLC assists clients by evaluating the facts of the incident, coordinating investigative resources such as accident reconstruction and equipment review, and securing medical documentation to support claims for compensation. The firm also handles communications with insurers and opposing parties, seeks to preserve evidence, and advises on whether settlement or further legal action is appropriate to protect the client’s interests. Throughout the process, the firm focuses on clear client communication, practical guidance about options, and strategies tailored to each matter, including addressing potential interactions with workers’ compensation and third-party claims. Early contact helps ensure important deadlines are met and that evidence is preserved while the firm develops a plan to pursue recovery on behalf of the injured person.

Personal Injury Services in Rome

Explore our injury practice areas

⚖️ All Personal Injury Services