Defective Boom Lift Crushes Construction Worker

Case Overview

This case takes place in North Carolina and involves a construction worker who was injured by a defective boom lift while working on a commercial construction project. The Plaintiff was a master electrician who had been tasked with the installation of ceiling lights in a big box retail store. In order to perform work on the ceiling of the store, the Plaintiff was operating a boom lift that had been rented from a heavy equipment rental company. When the Plaintiff originally rented the equipment, he had been assured that the lift had been inspected and was in proper working order. On the day of the accident, the Plaintiff and another worker entered the platform of the lift and began ascending towards the ceiling. As the platform approached the ceiling, the Plaintiff found that the lift’s “stop” function was not working. As a result, the lift pressed both men into the ceiling, causing them to sustain severe crushing injuries. It is alleged that the rental company failed to adequately inspect the lift before renting it to the Plaintiff.

Questions to the Mechanical Engineering expert and their responses

How often should lifts of this nature be inspected?

There are a multitude of OSHA requirements that dictate the nature and extent of inspections that must be performed before equipment can be rented out.

About the expert

This seasoned Professional Engineer has over 40 years of extensive experience in construction and industrial accident investigation, forensics, testing, reconstruction, manufacturing machinery, household equipment, HVAC and ANSI/OSHA compliance. His industry experience includes aerial lift design, manufacture and applications, surface mining equipment manufacture and applications, manufacturing machinery, assembly machinery, engineering management, project management, machine design and testing. He is in both certified Forensic Mechanical Investigations and OSHA safety regulations. He is an authority in his field having published 14 articles on various engineering and safety topics. Most notably he investigated an incident in which elevator machinery was allegedly damaged by sandblasting media.

E-008230

Specialties:

Mechanical Engineering