PRWire

San Francisco, CA April 17, 2008 — In the wake of a fatal crane collapse on Manhattan's Upper East Side, Mary Alexander was interviewed as an expert on construction accident law by San Francisco's KTVU Channel 2 News.

In a report that aired March 17, Ms. Alexander discussed changes in California law after a 1989 accident in which a crane fell more than 16 stories in San Francisco's financial district, killing five people. Both the California and New York collapses, Ms. Alexander told Channel 2, had occurred during a process known as 'jumping' the crane, when the crane is extended to enable construction of upper-level floors. It is a particularly dangerous process, she said, because the crane is less stable at this point and crews need to be vigilant in taking the proper safety precautions.

Since the San Francisco accident, Ms. Alexander told Channel 2, California law has been amended to require more training - through in-the-seat sessions and written exams - for crane operators. Drug tests are now mandatory, and all crane operators must be licensed, which wasn't the case in 1989. The new law, which wasn't passed until 2005, had faced heavy resistance from the construction industry.

With a surge of high-rise construction projects in the Bay Area, Channel 2 asked Ms. Alexander about the chances of another crane collapse. Construction, Ms. Alexander said, is always a risky business, and different buildings have different requirements. Each day engineers have to carefully consider the situation and make decisions - and at few times are their actions as important, or as potentially perilous, as when workers jump a crane. Tougher laws are a start, but in the end, it's the people on site who need to be properly trained - and careful.

Mary Alexander is lead counsel for the Mary Alexander & Associates law firm. The San Francisco attorney specializes in personal injury law, and has more than 25 years of experience in the field. Her firm's trademark is courtroom preparation with the use of innovative practices to try complex cases. Mary Alexander & Associates is encouraging individuals who suspect they have a personal injury or wrongful death claim to visit their website at http://www.maryalexanderlaw.com for a free case review. For more information about Mary Alexander & Associates, please visit
website.

Ms. Mary Alexander has also launched San Francisco Injury News to continue to educate the public on such catastrophic accidents.

Mary Alexander & Associates
44 Montgomery Street, Suite 1303
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: (866) 698-5155