6/06/08: OSHA's existing rules for workers who operate cranes have not been updated since 1971, though the agency acknowledges modernized standards could help prevent future accidents.

The Labor Department in May estimated there are as many as 82 fatalities annually associated with cranes in construction, and said a more up-to-date standard would help prevent them. Most crane accidents are due to wind or operator error, experts say.

Crane related accident reports received by this site for 1999: 110 with 51 deaths (late reports received are included in the totals).

This site launched on January 27, 1999. The above numbers are for about 11 months. It is reasonable to believe that all accidents are not reported to this site.

The above numbers are subject to change as late arriving reports are received and added to our archive.
Late 1999 Reports Received (subscriber access only)

U.S. crane accidents claim 50 lives every year.
More than 500 US construction workers died in crane accidents between 1984 and 1994, according to a study of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Antiquated OSHA statistics. | Dead Link | Typical government bureaucracy at its best. Caution! Do not rely on the numbers.

The International Union of Operating Engineers revealed that 502 workers died in 480 separate accidents. See article Power line contact was by far the most common cause of accidents, accounting for 39 percent of all fatalities.

Other major causes included assembly/dismantling (12 percent), boom buckling (8 percent), rigging failure (7 percent) and upset/overturn (7 percent).