I can see holding the power company partially liable for placing their lines closer to the ground than code requires. But do they have $5M in liability? Doesn’t the crane operator have a good-sized chunk of responsibility for ensuring his path of travel is clear?
well, first of all, when was the power line put in? was the crane put in after the line was there? how long had he been operating the crane prior to the accident? sounds like missing information. if the power line was already there, then the crane installation folks should be at-fault. if the power line was installed afterwards, then i can see it being the power folks at-fault. here’s the other thing, if he knew that the line was that low and had been operating the crane already knowing that the line was that low, then why did he hit the line? the continuity is broken if he is already familiar w/the hazard that was in place. was there another crane operator that had operated the same crane w/the same power line hazard? too many issues that needed to be resolved to lay proper claim. when in reality, everyone probably contributed to the accident, including the operator.
so here’s the next question: can he still operate the crane? or what medical issues prohibit him from working?
Excellent cross reference. Based upon the facts stated at trail, the power line was put up AFTER the baot yard was opened. It was rigged below state requirements. Employee stated at trial they were not trained or informed of the state requirement.
The sevely injured employee was working on the ground and was holditng the mast as it hit a 19,000 volt powerline.
Once again IJ prints 1/4 of an article and leaves out some very important facts.
Not only was apportionment ignored, so too was comparative negligence. This guy should have LOOKED AROUND before he operated the crane. Only a blind person would miss a power line. Unless he’s a french fry, this award is totally out of line. What about WC?
i agree….think about it this way as well, if he was on the ground during the event, was he not the safety eyes! was he not holding the mast during the transfer? makes you wonder who was doing what? it’s like me saying, i turned my eyes for 1 second to change the radio station and since you stopped in front of me – you should be charged for stopping when we are on the hwy going 55 MPH…yet, we know that if i rear-ended someone, it is my fault for not paying attention! oops, did i say that i was responsible for not paying attention…so should it be here!
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I can see holding the power company partially liable for placing their lines closer to the ground than code requires. But do they have $5M in liability? Doesn’t the crane operator have a good-sized chunk of responsibility for ensuring his path of travel is clear?
well, first of all, when was the power line put in? was the crane put in after the line was there? how long had he been operating the crane prior to the accident? sounds like missing information. if the power line was already there, then the crane installation folks should be at-fault. if the power line was installed afterwards, then i can see it being the power folks at-fault. here’s the other thing, if he knew that the line was that low and had been operating the crane already knowing that the line was that low, then why did he hit the line? the continuity is broken if he is already familiar w/the hazard that was in place. was there another crane operator that had operated the same crane w/the same power line hazard? too many issues that needed to be resolved to lay proper claim. when in reality, everyone probably contributed to the accident, including the operator.
so here’s the next question: can he still operate the crane? or what medical issues prohibit him from working?
What was an 18 year old doing operating a crane anyway?
He learned how in the military.
I’m in the wrong business, again. This kid’s out of work for 5 years and the lost wages amount to over $1M in lost earnings?
Im going to stop reading IJ, so much inforamtion is missing in this story.
See http://ellsworthmaine.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17864&Itemid=85
He was not operating the crane, thats just the first inconsistancy.
Excellent cross reference. Based upon the facts stated at trail, the power line was put up AFTER the baot yard was opened. It was rigged below state requirements. Employee stated at trial they were not trained or informed of the state requirement.
The sevely injured employee was working on the ground and was holditng the mast as it hit a 19,000 volt powerline.
Once again IJ prints 1/4 of an article and leaves out some very important facts.
Not only was apportionment ignored, so too was comparative negligence. This guy should have LOOKED AROUND before he operated the crane. Only a blind person would miss a power line. Unless he’s a french fry, this award is totally out of line. What about WC?
i agree….think about it this way as well, if he was on the ground during the event, was he not the safety eyes! was he not holding the mast during the transfer? makes you wonder who was doing what? it’s like me saying, i turned my eyes for 1 second to change the radio station and since you stopped in front of me – you should be charged for stopping when we are on the hwy going 55 MPH…yet, we know that if i rear-ended someone, it is my fault for not paying attention! oops, did i say that i was responsible for not paying attention…so should it be here!