Kenneth J. Allen & Otto Shragal – Kenneth J. Allen Law Group
$11M Verdict: Animation Exposes Negligence After Tower Crane Crushes Ironworker
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Animation
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Forensic
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Legal
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Personal Injury
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Product Liability
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Case Study
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Jurors awarded an $11M verdict to the widow and three children of an ironworker who was crushed under a tower crane after the crane operator negligently failed to get an “all clear” from the worker before lowering an overweight load.
Challenge
The crane operator admitted in court filings that he negligently lowered the crane before making sure the worker was clear, and court testimony revealed that the equipment weighed much more than the tower’s rated capacity - which prevented the crane from lifting back up when the worker was first pinned.
Completed animation of the tower crane crushing ironworker.
Approach
Kenneth J. Allen and Otto Shragal, Esq., needed an animation series that would establish what happened, show what went wrong, and demonstrate the horrific mechanism of injury their client suffered before he died. We delivered an animation series that would achieve the following visual objectives:
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Establish the structural engineering of the tower crane and how it works.
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Show the lack of visibility the crane operator had to see the worker, emphasizing the importance of ensuring he was clear of the crane’s path.
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Demonstrate the unimaginably painful mechanism of injury the worker suffered as he was crushed under the weight of the unstoppable crane.
Establish How the Tower Crane Works
The first part of the animation highlight’s the two most important structural components of the crane involved in the worker’s death: the crane climber and the hosting block attachment.
The animation opens with an establishing shot of the tower crane and zooms in on the area where the two workers were located. It then rotates around the crane highlighting the crane climber and the hoisting block attachment.
Animation highlighting the overweighed tower crane.
Showing the Lack of Visibility
After establishing the crane tower’s structural components, the animation shows the crane operator’s complete inability to see his coworker -stressing the importance of verbally making sure he was clear of the crane’s path.
The crane operator walks over to the hoisting block where it is clear he has no visibility of his coworker, who is reaching for a cable. He then proceeds to lower the crane climber.
Animation establishing the exposure to danger.
Demonstrating the Mechanism of Injury
It’s difficult to convey in words the pain the victim suffered as he was crushed to death under the crane. Animation helped jurors understand the horrific reality the victim experienced before and as he died.
Animation demonstrating the mechanism of injury.
“The family is pleased with the jury’s verdict. They wanted to send a message to these companies that overloading a crane is never acceptable and should never again be done, particularly when it poses a direct risk of harm to workers on the project, as it did here. We believe the jury’s verdict accomplished that laudable goal and lent some meaning to my client's tragic death.”
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