Officials with the Austin-Travis County EMS, ACTCMS, updated the press and public regarding the major Austin crane accident that occurred late morning on September 18, 2020, at a construction site in Mueller. Mueller is located in the northeast quadrant of the city. A pair of cranes were in operation at the Alpha Building construction site, a building project that is part of the Mueller Development Area.
The Alpha Building is a six-story office building a parking garage under construction. It is the first of four office buildings to be built as part of the Mueller Development area, a project that will result in 795,000 square feet of office space when completed. The Alpha Building is located at 1600 Browning Street in Austin. This is at the corner of Browning Street and Mueller Boulevard.
The Cadence McShane company is the primary developer of the project. A subcontractor hired by Cadence McShane erected the cranes in question and provided the operators for the equipment.
The Austin crane accident and collision left the two cranes at the construction site entangled with one another. 22 people were injured, 16 of the crane collision victims being taken to area hospitals via ambulance. All of the injured individuals are workers associated with the project. No members of the public, although the construction site is in the midst of a highly populated area. The Browning and Mueller intersection is shared by the Alpha Building and the Dell Children’s Medical Center. There is a shopping center and an apartment complex in the area as well. By Friday morning following the crane accident, “things were business as usual” outside of the construction site perimeter.
No fatalities were reported in the direct aftermath of the Austin crane accident. With that said, two days after the crane collision, one hospitalized injured person was said to be in more serious condition than the others. There was no specific information about the state of this worker’s injuries and that individual’s prognosis.
No fatalities have yet been reported in the Austin crane accident. With that noted, Texas is far and away the leading state in the country for fatal crane accident injuries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Indeed, the crane accident death rate in Texas is more than the combined fatalities of the three states next in line behind the Lone Star State. Data collected between 2011 and 2017 reported 50 crane accident fatalities in Texas. By comparison, there were 16 crane accident fatalities in Florida, 16 in New York, and 14 in California.
In 2020, there has been only one fatal crane accident in Texas. Many industry analysts attribute this to the construction slowdown associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In Texas there were five fatal crane accidents in 2019 and 13 such deadly events in 2018, according to the Occupational Safety Health Administration, OSHA.
OSHA also reports that the contractor, Cadence McShane, is now under investigation for potential safety violations at the Austin construction site in the Mueller neighborhood. The company has had at least one OSHA health and safety violation in recent times.
The cranes involved in the collision have been stabilized, according to officials. Work will soon be underway to detangle the massive pieces of equipment and to dismantle the cranes.
Two days after the Austin crane accident there is no report from officials or the construction contractor or equipment subcontractor as to how the injury-causing injury occurred. Drones have been employed to fly about the damaged cranes to aid in coming to an understanding of what occurred.
An Austin crane accident lawyer from The Doan Law Firm at (512) 806-0000 is available around the clock, 24 hours a day, 365 days a week, to provide information about the rights of people injured in crane collapses and other types of construction site accidents. An Austin crane accident lawyer will provide a comprehensive case evaluation at no charge. A consultation can be arranged at our offices, at your home, in the hospital, or via virtual appointment online.
Our offices are located conveniently at:
100 Congress Avenue
Suite 200
Austin, Texas 78701
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