Exemption from liability for heavy construction machinery

We have received a last-minute request from our site manager to commission a second crane. This involves a 100-ton crane as an auxiliary crane. In connection with this, we are supposed to sign a liability waiver with the crane company for any possible pressure damage to the masonry of the wall of the immediate neighbor as well as the neighboring building, and for any pressure damage on the sidewalk.

We consider this procedure to be absolutely unprofessional, as the "experts" should be able to assess which loads are possible at maximum to exclude damage. Their business insurance should cover unforeseeable damages, after all, crane work is also their profession. Why should we assume such incalculable risks? And our builder's liability insurance does not cover such damages, nor are they insurable elsewhere. Or do you know of an insurance for this?

Has anyone already had experience with heavy construction machinery and liability waivers? Is this procedure a) legal and b) common?

Hello. We have often had a crane on site, but it was usually organized by the contracting company. We have never been presented with such a liability waiver, even when we provided the crane ourselves. But what exactly do you need to lift for a single-family house that requires a 100-ton crane, or how high does it need to be lifted? Which crane provider is it? Regards

We have never been presented with such a disclaimer, even when we set up the crane ourselves.

Thank you for your experience. It is a large, nationwide provider (name gladly via PM). One of their field service employees was on site who offered this combination of two cranes with their outreach lengths to the site manager. The field service employee mostly ignored us, even referring questions about the cranes directly to the site manager.

The question is whether one can actually refuse to sign this disclaimer without being blamed for a construction stoppage.

But the risks, if damage occurs to neighboring buildings, are incalculable for us as laymen.

The question is whether one can actually refuse to sign this liability disclaimer without being the one responsible for a construction stoppage.

In my opinion, this cannot be judged without knowledge of the contractual situation. Do you have a contract for work with a completion date? Then the contractor should deliver ...

But the risks if damages occur to the neighboring buildings are incalculable for us as laypeople.

Exactly. I would probably rather not sign then. The own house must be completed differently, without me having to rebuild the neighboring houses afterward. How many hundreds of thousands of euros do you still have liquid? Depending on that, you can then decide.

In my opinion, this cannot be judged without knowledge of the contractual situation. Do you have a contract for work with a completion date? Then the contractor should deliver ....

No, there is no completion date. The usual arguments: "We would have to be able to predict the weather in advance, ... etc." There is a construction schedule, which is of course "preliminary," as well as a scheduled appointment by email...

I will check in parallel this week whether other companies can do something like this without a disclaimer of liability or if there is at least some insurance available on the market!

So the inquiry with our insurance broker, an independent architect, and another prefabricated house provider each time revealed that such a procedure with the transfer of liability is not common and, moreover, the offer is excessively overpriced. Now our house construction company points out that they work exclusively with this provider and that the schedule would be endangered by further delay, as there is a lead time for applying for the road closure. Nevertheless, we are now waiting for alternative offers.