15.03.2012
Crane overturns scissor lift
A man died in New Hampshire yesterday after the scissor lift he was working from was struck by the hook of a crane.
The incident occurred at the site of the Hanover Inn, Hanover New Hampshire. Dana Lowe,53, was working around five metres up, securing steelwork, when the lift was reportedly knocked over by a swinging hook block. Lowe landed on a pile of steel beams, suffering serious injuries to his head, he was taken to hospital where he died around 15 hours later.
Lowe was employed as a subcontractor by CSE to help erect steelwork for an extension to the hotel. The main contractor is Vermont based Engelberth Construction. The crane is owned and operated by Able Crane Service of Merrimack, New Hampshire.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration visited the scene and have launched an investigation.
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The Hanover Inn yesterday
Vertikal Comment
This is a tragic case and in that all of the parties involved have first class reputations for safety and good practice. It is hard to imagine how this happened, most likely a momentary lapse of concentration on someones part, hopefully the information gleaned from the investigation will be made available to others, so that lessons can be learnt.
There have been a number of similar incidents, mostly with steel erection, where a load or the crane has come into contact with men working from platforms. It is an area that clearly needs careful planning and extra awareness.
Holger Johan
This is another example how important it is to communicate on jobsites. It is of extreme danger when cranes and access machines have to work on the same jobsite. Of course this is the normality but with a good communication and cooperation, accidents like this can be dropped down drastically.
Holger Johan