The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has scheduled two informal stakeholder meetings in April 2013 to discuss crane operator certification standards. Given the rash of serious, even deadly, crane accidents throughout the country, including New York, over the past several years, OSHA hopes to elicit useful comments and suggestions.

OSHA is the federal agency that is responsible for enacting safety rules, regulations and standards in the workplace. OSHA is also involved in investigating allegations of workplace safety violations. In its role as rule maker, OSHA began a seven-year investigation and negotiation process aimed at implementing crane operator certification standards back in 2003. The final rules went into effect in 2010 and govern the requirements for obtaining certification as a crane operator.

The stakeholder meetings announced by OSHA are intended to gather information from the public regarding:

• The usefulness of certifying operators for different capacities of cranes
• The risks of allowing an operator to operate all capacities of cranes within a specific type

The current rules regarding crane operator certification require all crane operators to be certified by an approved testing facility by November 2014. Furthermore, a testing facility is required to note the capacity and type of crane that an operator is certified to operate. The importance of the new certification process cannot be underscored.

Cranes come in numerous sizes, shapes and purposes, which is why it makes sense to require an operator to be certified in specific types of cranes. The skills and experience required to use a small crane to lift shingles onto a roof are not the same as the skills and experienced needed to operate a tower crane to lift an entire section of a building into place.

While not all crane accidents are the result of operator error, operator error is a contributing factor in many crane accidents. Hopefully, the meetings will help OSHA clarify future certification requirements for crane operators. That may help reduce crane accidents and injuries in the future.

If you have been injured as a result of a New York crane accident, or any other type of construction site accident, you could be entitled to third-party compensation in lieu of, or in addition to, New York workers’ compensation. All too often, workers’ compensation benefits fail to adequately compensate the victim of a construction accident. Furthermore, there is a chance that someone other than your employer may have contributed to your injuries.

The New York/New Jersey construction accident attorneys at Ginarte Gonzalez Winograd L.L.P., can help you understand your legal options. For your free consultation, contact the firm today by calling 888-446-2783 or filling out our online contact form.