Edinburgh Workers Hurt in Crane Accident

Stephen Wagner

Contributor

1 CommentPrint ArticleSubscribe

According to the Indianapolis star, three Edinburgh workers were injured on Friday afternoon in a construction accident. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080419/LOCAL/804190435.  The accident occurred during the construction of a Hilton Garden Inn when a crane tipped over.  One of the workers suffered broken bones while two others reportedly received minor injuries. 

All too often we are seeing construction site accidents in Indiana, often times involving serious injury or death.  It is fortunate there were no deaths in the Edinburgh accident--that is the exception.  As it is, the injured workers will likely only have worker's compensation claims under Indiana's workplace injury laws which are among the worst in the country.  If the accident was caused by the workers or anyone working for their employer (co-employees), Indiana law will prevent a negligence suit because work comp is the exclusive remedy.  The only way to receive truly adequate compensation would be if there is a responsible third party who was at fault for the accident.  In this case, a thorough investigation should be conducted to see if the general contractor or subcontractor was not enforcing OSHA safety laws which apply to the use of cranes.