Bow crane collapse a 'never event'
Following the crane collapse on houses and a block of flats in Bow, London, which resulted in the tragic death of a women and injuries to four other people, the lawyer who represented victims of the Battersea crane collapse in 2006, which killed two people, has said that incidents such as these should be considered 'never-events'.
Posted on 09 July 2020
The 20m (65ft) crane crashed on to the development and two terrace houses in Compton Close in East London on 8 July 2020.
Two of those injured are understood to have been taken to hospital with head injuries.
Witnesses described the sound of the crane collapsing as sounding, “like an earthquake” and described, “feeling the ground shake” when the crane came down.
London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade described a complex rescue operation .
Reports suggest the crane was being used by Swan Housing Association and NU Living at the time of the accident on the Watts Grove development.
Gene Matthews, a Partner a Leigh Day who previously successfully represented families affected by a catastrophic crane collapse in Battersea in September 2006, said:
“It is tragic that another person has lost their life through the collapse of a crane in a residential part of London. It is appalling that incidents of this nature can still occur, particularly in built-up areas where the risks to surrounding residents are so great.
“These should be ‘never-events’, they simply should not happen. A swift investigation must be carried out to determine where responsibility lies. Damage to surrounding property must be repaired, and injuries properly compensated.
“There have been numerous crane collapses over the years resulting in death and serious injuries in London and other parts of the UK. Any lessons that needed to be learnt should have already been fully understood and any necessary changes to safety guidelines, to prevent these catastrophic failings, should have already been implemented by now."