Buildings, bridges, and roadways can become compromised for a variety of reasons and property owners are required to monitor those weaknesses and either repair the damage or notify any pertinent parties. When these structures fail the general public is exposed to the possibility of great disaster occurring at any moment.
According to
Bottar Leone, personal injury lawyer in Albany, NY, “by failing to resolve the problem through maintenance and repair, those responsible for the structures may be liable for injuries that occur if the structure fails”. Though the legal definition is primarily directed at acceptable housing, this general rule also applies to workers who are working in unsafe structural facilities regardless of any worker’s compensation claims that may also result from a structural accident. The legal issue is negligence and duty of care.
Load Bearing Requirements
The legal definition of structure failure is broad and based on the structure ability to support anyone living or working in a structure. This is why landlords should always maintain structurally sound rental units. Merely disclosing a problem in the structure to a potential tenant can still establish negligence. Load bearing includes several components of the foundation, including flooring, girders, and beams. Additionally, columns that assist in building support should also be in good repair and footers which establish the initial foundation must be sufficiently stable. Even moving earth from beneath a portion of the structure can create a compromised building, so the appearance of a dwelling can be deceiving.
Failing Work Structures
A failing work building can create a complicated legal situation if the injured party was working during an accident. This is an obvious worker’s compensation situation, but also is negligence from a duty of care violation on the part of the owner or employer. It is important to retain an experienced personal injury and worker’s compensation attorney for cases with multiple claim possibilities. Solid representatives can assess the maximum value of a case and know exactly how to build a valid case to the court. They can also provide counsel to ensure fair rulings on worker’s compensation insurance claims.
Failing Residential Structures
There is an abundance of rental property that may not be completely legal in terms of structure soundness or compliance. Roofing problems can be a prime example. Flooring can be another problem with rental property if the landlord does not want to provide necessary repairs. This is one reason why a lease can protect a tenant as well as a landlord because it serves as documentation of the agreement and relationship. The rights of the tenant include sanitation as well as bodily safety, including possible molding on non-load bearing portions of the dwelling. Repair does not require any item be restored to new condition. It must merely be safely operational and sanitary.
Retaining an experienced structure attorney can be important with a potential legal situation involving housing or dangerous work areas and a personal injury attorney is a necessity in cases involving injuries from structural failure. Property owners and employers that balk at making required legal repairs will normally fight a claim with the tenant, but an attorney sends a signal. Sometimes property owners can also be held liable for alternative living quarters during the repairs if the tenant’s legal counsel includes this in the claim. It is important for everyone to remember that landlords and property owners have legal requirements just like employers and tenants have considerable rights associated with various forms of property maintenance and occupation.
As the renter of a variety of properties over the past 10 years, author Molly Pearce writes to raise awareness of the public’s rights as they pertain to structural failure. Older states like New York have an increasingly higher rate of structural failures. Over the past 30 years, Bottar Leone, personal injury lawyer in Albany, NY has been specializing in the prosecution and trying of medical malpractice, dangerous product, structural failure accidents, and serious personal injury cases. They have a proven track record of success and have aided over 9,000 families effected by personal injury.
Tagged as:
hazardous building conditions,
negligence,
public property,
structural failure,
unsafe bridges,
unsafe roadways,
unsafe work conditions