DENVER - The company operating the crane that collapsed in Denver's River North neighborhood Wednesday has been sued for several prior accidents.
9Wants to Know found lawsuits involving four RMS Crane accidents in the last decade.They include a crane collapse at Snowmass Village and an accident that killed a construction worker at Fort Carson in 2007.
Another lawsuit settled this month involved a 2013 traffic accident on I-25. An RMS truck driver hit a low overpass at Speer Boulevard, causing debris to hit another car and seriously injure that driver.
As for Wednesday's accident, company officials are investigating why the ground gave way under a crane support. The crane boom came crashing down on a parking garage -- which was under construction -- and on a nearby building in the 3300 block of Brighton Boulevard.
Crane safety experts say there are many factors that go into ensuring that a crane is on stable ground.
"It just takes somebody not paying attention at the controls, or not paying attention at the lift planning session, or someone not doing the compaction reports, or not contacting the utilities department or something like that," said Eric Skinner, a crane inspector for BTEC Services. "It just takes one guy to mess the whole thing up."
An attorney for RMS Cranes' parent company says safety is a priority, and their primary concern now is for the worker injured in the RiNo accident. The attorney said she was "not at liberty" to discuss prior lawsuits against the company.
OSHA is investigating whether RMS Cranes or the on-site building contractor, Brinkman Construction, have violated federal crane safety regulations.
(© 2015 KUSA)
