Balcony Collapses Archives | Page 3 of 9 | DENENA

8 Most Common Causes of U.S. Steel Construction Injury Accidents

U.S. OSHA investigates fatal work accidents and keeps track of the data on the tragic workplace fatalities. Our Houston work accident attorneys emphasize that almost 1 in 5 fatal work accidents in the U.S. occur in the construction industry. And many of those involve the dangerous business of constructing steel framed multi-story buildings. OSHA data indicates that the 8 most common causes of U.S. steel construction injury accidents are:

Structural collapses that occur while workers are connecting joists or building trusses. The bulk of these accidents occur because workers disconnect the crane from the steel member before it’s secured in place.

Collapses that happen when workers are landing or placing a load. These happen mainly when workers place the loads on unsecured or un-bridged joists.

Workers struck by objects, generally when working or walking under a load.

Workers that fall after being struck by objects. Many workers get struck when they’re landing a load or connecting a structural member. Sometimes a tool slips or a piece of decking gets blown off of a pile and if sufficient fall protection is not provided or utilized, the worker suffers a fatal fall.

Unsecured or unstable decking that slips out of place when a worker steps onto it. When that worker doesn’t have or doesn’t use proper fall protection gear, a fatal fall can result.

A worker fails to use fall protection gear or fails to use it correctly. In these cases, the worker might be wearing a safety belt and even have rigged the lifelines, but the rigging was done improperly.

Slipping or falling while walking or standing on structural beams or joists without proper fall protection gear.

Workers not tied off at workstations during plumbing, bolting, welding or cutting operations.

Adequate Safety Procedures and Worker Training are Essential to Prevent Fatal Work Accidents

The Houston work accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC point out that 100% of these fatal accidents are preventable. Better training of workers and worksite supervisors can make a big difference. Supplying full fall protection gear and training workers in the proper use of it also helps. In the dangerous occupation of steel building construction, it’s essential to have adequate safety procedures in place to protect workers and to ensure that these procedures are followed at all times. When workers are constructing buildings dozens or hundreds of feet in the air, one slip or fall can be immediately fatal without essential safety procedures and protective gear in place.

Stay Tuned for Future Articles with Safety Tips and Accident Prevention Guidelines

Our Houston work accident attorneys will be posting a series of articles including essential safety procedures and training tips over the course of the next weeks. If you’re in the construction industry or have a loved one working in this dangerous occupation, be sure to keep reading for the important safety information you want to know.

Don’t hesitate to contact our Houston work accident attorneys for a FREE, no obligation legal consultation if you or a loved one was injured in a workplace accident. We’re available anytime through our online contact form and by phone at 281-369-4363.

Houston Fire-Related Structural Collapses lead to Injuries and Fatalities: What to do when You need Help

Both firefighters and civilians receive a large proportion of their fire-related injuries due to structural collapses. When floors and stairs give way, people can suddenly plummet to the floors below and be trapped by burning or burnt debris. Some lose their lives when they can’t be rescued in time from the structural collapse that has trapped them.

Data from the most recent 20-year span shows that almost 1,500 firefighters died in the line of duty. And over 400 of these tragic fatalities occurred from the structural collapses inside burning buildings. 60% of these firefighter fatalities happened when the firefighters got trapped in the burning buildings. And our structural collapse lawyers note that the other 40% of the firefighters died because objects falling in the burning building struck them.

Fire weakens structural timbers and connections between structural members in a building. Wood and wood-framed buildings are especially vulnerable, but stone and concrete masonry can easily split, crumble, and crack due to heat and flame. Where and how extensively a structure has been weakened by fire can be unpredictable.

Our structural collapse lawyers point out that even experienced fire investigators and building inspectors can’t always tell what to expect regarding a building’s structural integrity after a fire. They can’t always accurately predict what will remain standing and what will fall.

Example: Tenant, 2 Firefighters injured in Blaze at Houston’s Cancun Apartments

Early Thursday morning around 4:30 a.m., a two-alarm blaze broke out in the Cancun Apartments in northwest Houston. The apartments are on Wirt Road.

One apartment resident and two firefighters were hospitalized from serious injuries they received in the blaze. One of the firemen injured his back in a fall when the floor of a 2nd-floor apartment collapsed after being weakened by the fire and the firefighter fell through.

Contact the Experienced Structural Collapse Lawyers at Denena Points, PC when you need Help after a Building Collapse Injury

Most injury lawyers have never handled a single injury or wrongful death claim resulting from a structural collapse. At Denena Points, PC, our Board Certified personal injury attorneys have successfully handled a number of such cases, including high-profile, multi-million dollar claims.

Contact our structural collapse lawyers for a FREE and confidential legal consultation to discuss your case and get answers to your urgent questions. You have no obligation to hire an attorney. And you could learn what you need to know to make informed decisions about what to do to secure your future after a structural collapse injury has changed your life. Call us at 281-369-4363 or reach us anytime through our online contact form. Let us guide you to the full financial recovery you deserve.

Learn What You need to do to Successfully Prove Your Balcony Fall Case

One person was hospitalized after a porch attached to the New Beginning Beauty Salon in North Myrtle Beach collapsed on Wednesday. The porch stood five feet above the ground before it collapsed. City inspectors are examining the porch to determine why it collapsed and to ensure that it received proper repairs. What they find could determine how much financial compensation the injured victim can receive.

When You’re Injured, You Must Prove the Cause(s) of your Injury to Win the Financial Compensation you Deserve

When you receive serious injury because a porch, deck, or balcony collapses beneath you or onto you from above, your Houston lawyer for balcony falls could help you win a full financial recovery to pay for your medical expenses, lost wages, and other losses from the fall. But in a civil claim for compensation, the burden of proof falls on you. You need to prove:

The defendant’s duty of care. Those responsible for the deck have a duty to construct it properly and to inspect and maintain it adequately for the safety of others.

A breach of that duty of care. Perhaps the structure was poorly constructed, inadequately inspected, or improperly maintained. These breaches of the duty of care constitute negligence.

You were injured by the structural collapse. You must have actual injuries to which a jury can attach monetary values.

The negligent breach of the duty of care was the proximate cause of your injuries. In other words, the structural collapse actually caused the injuries for which you’re claiming compensation.

Proving the Cause(s) of a Porch or other Structural Collapse is Complex and Requires highly Technical Testimony

To prove your claim for injury compensation, you will need the help of a lawyer with strong experience negotiating and litigating structural collapse cases. Your Houston lawyer for balcony falls will need to be able to help you locate qualified expert witnesses that can examine the evidence and testify to such things as whether properly treated lumber was used in construction, the structure had the proper type and spacing of connectors, and the structure had been adequately maintained.

Contact an Experienced Houston Lawyer for Balcony Falls at Denena Points, PC to help You win a Full Financial Recovery

We provide a completely FREE and confidential legal consultation to start you down your road to financial recovery. You have no obligation to hire a lawyer. And we don’t charge you attorneys’ fees unless we win your claim for you.

You can be confident that your Houston lawyer for balcony falls at Denena Points, PC is Texas Board Certified in personal injury law and is also among the relative handful of lawyers nationwide to have substantial practical experience helping clients make successful structural collapse injury claims.Call us today at 281-369-4363 or reach us through our convenientonline contact form. We’ll be happy to speak with you and help you find solutions after an unexpected accident has seriously injured you or your loved one.

Learn What You need to do to Successfully Prove Your Balcony Fall Case

When You’re Injured, You Must Prove the Cause(s) of your Injury to Win the Financial Compensation you Deserve

The defendant’s duty of care. Those responsible for the deck have a duty to construct it properly and to inspect and maintain it adequately for the safety of others.

A breach of that duty of care. Perhaps the structure was poorly constructed, inadequately inspected, or improperly maintained. These breaches of the duty of care constitute negligence.

You were injured by the structural collapse. You must have actual injuries to which a jury can attach monetary values.

The negligent breach of the duty of care was the proximate cause of your injuries. In other words, the structural collapse actually caused the injuries for which you’re claiming compensation.

Proving the Cause(s) of a Porch or other Structural Collapse is Complex and Requires highly Technical Testimony

Contact an Experienced Houston Lawyer for Balcony Falls at Denena Points, PC to help You win a Full Financial Recovery

Relatively low quality and useful lifespan of new Chinese construction

The structural collapse injury attorneys at Denena & Points remark that the pace of new Chinese construction is beyond impressive. The nation is building railways and raising up entire cities in record time, while U.S. construction and infrastructure projects languish.

China announced earlier this month that it planned to construct 5 ports, 25 subway and intercity rail projects, 9 sewage treatment plants, and 1,200 miles of road. With such massive construction on the boards, about 2 billion square meters of new buildings annually, our structural collapse injury attorneys don’t wonder that China utilizes about 40% of the world’s steel and concrete.

However, the fast and enthusiastic pace of Chinese construction has its downside. New Chinese buildings are only expected to stand for 25 to 30 years while the average lifespan of a U.S. commercial building is expected to be 70 to 75 years. (Source: Christina Larson, Bloomberg Business Week, 9/27/12) And many new construction projects aren’t even lasting a handful of years:

For example, we posted a piece some time back on the 13-story apartment building in Shanghai that simply toppled in its entirety in 2009 before it was even completed due to a poor foundation.

School buildings collapsed in 2008 following an earthquake in Wenchuan partly due to low-quality concrete that resulted in structures dubbed “tofu buildings.”

The G-4 superhighway and areas near the “Fun City” development on the outskirts of Beijing flooded catastrophically in July, resulting in at 77 deaths. Many of these victims died drowned in their vehicles due to inadequate or clogged up drainage systems.

An 8-lane suspension bridge in Harbin, China, newly constructed at a cost of $300 million, suddenly collapsed in August. The collapse sent 3 people to their deaths.

In 2011, the new $210 million Guangzhou Opera House began to cast off its glass window panels and experience substantial cracking in its ceiling.

Our structural collapse injury attorneys note that the causes blamed for these structural failures cover the full range of errors:

The Chinese government employing as many untrained workers as possible on each project, rather than technology, in order to alleviate the unemployment problem as rural workers are displaced.
Use of poor materials.
Poor project management.
A timetable for the architectural design and construction phases on residential and commercial developments that is only half of that used in the United States.
Irregular implementation and oversight of construction standards. While there has been a move towards using accepted international building codes, the move has been sporadic.

China’s structural stability problems with its new construction serve as an apt lesson on prioritizing quantity over quality. Take it to heart. The lesson applies in every area of life and endeavor.

China is much to be admired in many ways. But its enthusiastic adoption of building at an unnaturally rapid pace has a dark side. The many spectacular structural failures tarnish the shining image of economic prosperity that China apparently tries to convey.

Learn some techniques you could use to prevent structural collapse in your structures at home. And learn where to turn and what to do in the vent of an injury caused by structural collapse. Download our structural collapse injury attorneys’ free report with a click on this web page.

Know your rights as a Texas renter and your landlord’s responsibility

Our Texas apartment collapse attorneys at Denena & Points periodically like to remind Texas renters that you all have rights to a safe and fit place to live under Texas laws. In an environment where the previous housing bubble artificially pushed up the price of dwelling space, and those prices have never really gone back down as they should, we realize that renters often feel powerless against the landlords who would happily take advantage of them.

Section 92 of the Texas Property Code and the Texas Attorney General’s website could help you gain insight into your rights as a renter and also your landlord’s responsibilities under the law.

Under established Texas law, a tenant possesses the right to a space free of any adverse condition that would materially affect the Texas renter’s safety or health. The Texas apartment collapse attorneys at Denena & Points emphasize that a landlord that rents you a place to live essentially guarantees that your place will be a fit place for you to live in quiet enjoyment of a safe and healthful environment.

A Texas renter that lives with an unsafe condition that the landlord won’t repair can go to the local Justice of the Peace court to get a repair order against the landlord. If your landlord still doesn’t repair the unsafe condition after the JP court order, you might have the right to end your lease. But you have to follow specific steps before you can validly end your lease. The Texas Attorney General’s website specifies the steps you should take and the remedies available to Texas renters suffering in unsafe leased properties.

Legally, you could make your landlord repair unsafe conditions at your apartment. However, some negligent landlords, frequently known as slumlords, simply won’t make repairs under any circumstances. You should be aware that at your apartment, your landlord holds the legal responsibility to ensure your rights to:

“Quiet enjoyment” of your apartment, and
A healthy and safe apartment environment.

If your landlord won’t live up his legal responsibilities under Texas law, our Texas apartment collapse attorneys point out that you might be able to end your lease. But first you must make serious, good faith efforts to get your negligent landlord to fix the unsafe condition at your apartment. You’ll need to follow these steps to ensure your rights:

Make sure that you have paid up the rent monies required to date by your lease.

Mail your landlord a dated letter requesting repairs by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by registered mail. You can also deliver your letter in person. But if you do this, and the landlord fails to make repairs within a reasonable time, then you’ll still need to do the mailing and go through another reasonable period of waiting.

Always keep a copy of your letter and mailing receipts.

Your landlord should make diligent efforts to fix the unsafe condition at your apartment within a reasonable time after receiving your letter. A rebuttable presumption sets seven days as a reasonable amount of time to make repairs after receiving your letter.

If after all of this notification and waiting, your negligent landlord still fails to make repairs to the unsafe condition at your apartment, then you might be able to:

End your lease;
Get the unsafe condition repaired yourself and deduct the cost from your rent; or
Get a court order telling the negligent landlord to make repairs of the unsafe condition.

Our Texas apartment collapse attorneys emphasize here that taking action against a landlord, even a bad one that won’t make necessary repairs, could be a challenge. So you should always consult with a good Texas attorney taking legal action. Your Texas apartment collapse attorneys could help you determine if your landlord may rebut the seven-day presumption regarding repairs. Your attorney’s counsel could also help you avoid dire mistakes.

Sometimes you may feel that an unsafe or unhealthy condition places you in danger of personal injury and requires repair. But the problem that’s bothering you at your apartment won’t actually meet the legal standard to allow you to end a lease. And if you break your lease without a legally valid reason and without following necessary procedures, you put yourself at your landlord’s mercy. And most landlords aren’t particularly noted for their mercy.

The law gives Texas renters some rights under the law. But individual Texas renters still remain fairly powerless against property owners. So don’t take chances. Get a knowledgeable attorney on your side before you take action. Call or email the Texas apartment collapse attorneys at Denena & Points for a free initial legal consultation if you have suffered injury because of an unsafe condition due to landlord negligence.

U.S. researchers investigate potential new aid to structural stability

The structural failure injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC remark that transportation experts have been calling attention to the aging U.S. highway infrastructure over recent years. Especially in bridges and elevated portions of the interstates, wear and tear caused by aging materials and long use by heavy trucks have led to weaknesses in these structures that hold the potential for eventual collapse.

Sudden structural collapses, like the failure of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis in 2007, can result in multiple deaths and severe injuries. The Minneapolis bridge collapse injured 145 people and killed 13.

Rebuilding, repairing, and replacing the entire aging infrastructure that needs attention is beyond the budgetary capacity of any government even in its wildest dreams. So researchers have been looking at possible alternatives that could help stabilize the infrastructure and provide structural stability in the absence of complete repair and replacement.

Our structural failure injury attorneys note that one promising new tool in the battle against aging infrastructure appears to be the carbon nanotube composite. Researchers at the University of Delaware’s Center for Composite Materials are collecting data on a carbon nanotube hybrid glass-fiber composite.

Attached to small-scale concrete beams, this very thin composite material formed a continuous, conductive “smart skin.” Researchers found the composite skin to be unusually sensitive to changes in strain as well as to the development and growth of damage.

So the carbon nanotube composite forms not only a thin skin that is exceptionally strong for its size, but also an early warning system that could alert transportation officials to impending structural failures and collapses and thus save lives. The skin can serve as either a Structural Health Monitoring System or a form of damage repair. Or both.

The structural failure injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC emphasize that one great advantage of the composite carbon nanotube sensors is their minute size. They can penetrate between fibers of yarn bundles or between the plies of fiber composite. The nanotubes integrate completely into an advanced fiber composite system, providing strength and functionality without taking away from the structure with which they bond. So the carbon nanotube composite can be effectively bonded to existing structures of any shape or size or built into new structure. (Source: Diane Kukich, University of Delaware, Nanowerk News, 9/18/12)

The aging U.S. highway infrastructure needs innovative approaches to monitoring and enhancing structural stability in order to avoid other potential disasters like the Minneapolis bridge collapse. Read about the dangers posed by aging infrastructure in this article by our structural failure injury attorneys.

Avoid injury liability by maintaining a safe and sturdy deck at home

The deck collapse and injury attorneys at Denena & Points realize that you and your guests, usually valued family and friends, rely on your deck to support the weight of gatherings and events. You don’t want these guests to blame you when your deck won’t hold up under their weight. And a disastrous, sudden deck collapse could lead to painful, traumatic and expensive injuries.

Just last week, a deck in Wichita, Kansas collapsed in the wee hours of the morning with six people on it that were gathered for a birthday. Several serious injuries resulted from the sudden deck collapse in Kansas. The homeowner disclaimed much knowledge regarding the safety of the deck on the home he had purchased four years previously. But checks of the City Hall records office showed that no permits had been filed regarding construction of the deck on that home.

Our deck collapse and injury attorneys point out that building permits usually require safety inspections during and after the completion of a building project like a deck. These inspections can catch flaws in construction and materials before they injure or kill one of your guests or family members. And regular inspections, at least yearly, following construction of your deck could catch signs of deterioration and wear before they result in disaster and liability for you.

NADRA, the North American Deck and Railing Association, suggests that homeowners inspect their decks regularly for safety. It never hurts to have a well-trained, professional inspector in occasionally to assess the condition and expected remaining lifespan of your deck.

And you can check your deck railings and banisters occasionally to make sure that they are safe and secure. Check the strength and stability of the sides and riser on stairs leading up to the deck. You should always replace any damaged, split, or cracked wood before it gives way. And pay close attention to the conditions of deck fasteners and connectors. Decks, railings, and stairs should never sag or sway when you test them. If they do, it’s a sign you need to replace them.

Decks usually last about 20 years at most before they require replacement. If your deck is nearing the end of its projected lifespan, look into the possibility of obtaining new building permits, build a stronger, and even better replacement for it.

Understand the factors leading to deck collapse and injury liability. Download our deck collapse and injury attorneys’ free report on balcony and deck collapse safety issues from this web page.

Texas Building Permit and Inspection Requirements for Decks

Deck Collapse Lawyers: Deck Collapse Injury Attorneys: Deck Collapse Injury Lawsuit

The deck collapse lawyers at Denena & Points remark that Texas, like many U.S. states, has passed a building code based on the International Building Code. The Texas code is centered on the revised version of the 2009 international code standards. Under the Texas Building Code, you should have a deck professionally inspected before your purchase a home with a deck or when you add a deck to your home later.

In addition to the statewide building code requirements, your town and county might have their own building code requirements. These local codes might not be exactly the same as the statewide building code. Depending on your town and county, you might have to meet additional building code requirements. And local governments, like the state, have adopted fines that you must pay if you do not abide by relevant building codes.

Our deck collapse lawyers caution that occasionally, federal codes will also apply to your deck. Check with a reputable local building inspector or knowledgeable contractor if you have questions about what exactly you must do regarding your deck. They will usually know the building codes and requirements that apply to their work area.

Decks that sit right on the ground won’t usually subject you to a lot of rules. But when you have an elevated deck, even if it’s just elevated a few feet off the ground, more regulations and possible fines come into play. This is because of the dangers of injury and fatality that falls from collapsed elevated decks can present.

Our deck collapse lawyers urge you to follow and abide by all applicable building codes when it comes to your deck. A poorly constructed or maintained deck can lead to collapse and severe injuries. And you, as the homeowner, will be responsible for paying the costs of any injuries or wrongful deaths that result. You will also face home repair costs.

If you face the suffering caused by a deck collapse injury or fatality, contact the deck collapse lawyers at Denena & Points for a free and confidential legal consultation regarding your case. We’re Board Certified Personal Injury attorneys, and in our more than 14 years of practice we have successfully handled a number of complex cases on behalf of victims injured by balcony collapse or deck collapse.

We’ve also successfully handled wrongful death cases on behalf of surviving family members of those killed by a sudden deck collapse or balcony collapse. Our personal injury expertise regarding structural collapse cases particularly could help guide you to a full financial recovery after your accident. Call or email us today to set up your free consultation.

South Wichita, KS deck collapse injuries and deck safety issues

The deck collapse injury lawyers at Denena & Points note that early Sunday morning, an outdoor 2nd-floor deck on a home in south Wichita, KS collapsed suddenly with 6 people on it. The people were gathered on the deck celebrating a birthday. One young man received serious head injuries in the 2nd-floor deck collapse. Another man dislocated his shoulder; one woman broke her ankle in the fall; and another three guests received minor injuries. (Source: KAKE TV news, 9/17/12)

Deck safety, especially during summer months when decks frequently see large gatherings of guests, is a very real issue throughout the United States. Building codes governing deck and porch construction vary somewhat from state to state. But overall deck safety construction requirements were upgraded in 2003 after the worst porch collapse occurred.

In that horrific collapse of an outdoor structure, the 3rd-floor porch on a Chicago home collapsed, taking out the 2nd-floor porch below it and collapsing into the 1st-floor porch area. Our deck collapse injury lawyers are saddened to report that around 50 people were on the three porches at the time of the deadly porch collapse, and 13 of them were killed.

Up until that horrific collapse, building codes generally allowed you to attach a deck or porch to a house using nails. But since that deadly porch collapse in Chicago, use of an attachment surface called a ledger board is required. In addition, the use of bolts or screws to attach the deck to a solid part of the main structure is the norm for deck safety.

Older decks collapse on a regular basis and provide the source of greatest safety hazards. Numerous injuries and fatalities result from sudden collapses of older decks and porches. Even as building codes are upgraded, older structures that have already been built usually are not. Lack of regular inspections, proper maintenance, weathering, and initial poor building practices could all result in a sudden deck collapse.

Be sure that you inspect your deck or porch regularly for signs of wear, stress, or loosening from the main structure of the home. And read our deck collapse injury lawyers’ free report on the safety essentials for decks, balconies, and outdoor structures. It provides useful information on how to spot structural weaknesses in your own deck and how you could help prevent a sudden structural collapse on your property. Download the report for free with a click on this web page.

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