The owner of a New York crane company has been indicted on manslaughter charges following the collapse of a crane which killed two workers. Prosecutors allege that the owner hired a Chinese company to repair the crane for $20,000 about 10 months before the accident after an Ohio company wanted $120,000 to make the repairs. To make matters worse, the Chinese company expressed doubts that they could do the job properly. The city inspector who approved the use of the crane resigned after being accused of neglect of duty. The families of the two workers have sued the crane owner and the city’s building department alleging negligence and corruption. During the litigation the city ignored court orders to produce information regarding the city’s inspection of construction equipment.
Tags: crane collapse, negligence