Indiana has responded to the disastrous results of the deadly concert stage collapse in high winds with a new safety inspection rule covering temporary stage rigging that was called urgently needed by the chairman of the Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission. The new rule is only a temporary emergency measure until Indiana passes a law governing the subject. Our stage collapse lawyers specify that the new safety inspection rule requires inspection of concert stage riggings that support overhead sound, video, or other equipment.
Such rigging is the type that collapsed suddenly and heavily in high winds during a storm last summer on August 13th at the Indiana State Fair, killing 7 people and injuring dozens more. Those killed and injured stood in the VIP area right beside the concert stage or on the stage itself.
Our stage collapse lawyers note that the new safety inspection rule does not apply to such permanent structures as a park’s permanent band shell. State inspection laws already cover those types of permanent structures. But Indiana laws left a gap in inspection regulations relating to temporary structures and their rigging. In the wake of the deadly Indiana State Fair’s concert stage collapse, safety officials and lawmakers are now addressing that gap.
Specifically, the new safety inspection rule applies to rigging that is not attached to the stage platform and that holds equipment. Our stage collapse lawyers also mention that the new rule also requires landlords over the property where concerts are held to develop an evacuation plan and create “set-backs” away from the stage to protect concertgoers in the event of a stage collapse.
The new safety inspection rule for outdoor stage rigging and related temporary structures is an emergency measure required under legislation signed into law last month by Indiana’s governor. During the summer, a legislative committee is scheduled to draft recommendations for the next legislative General Assembly to consider in order to pass a permanent law covering the structures.
The State Fire Marshall stated that his office would carry out the necessary work to inspect temporary stages and their rigging. But he cautioned that people should not assume that the new safety inspection rule is a failsafe that will prevent all future tragedies. He said, “You never want to assume you can eliminate risk. Weather is always an unpredictable factor.”
For more information on how weather forms a prime risk factor for outdoor stage collapses, read this linked article by our stage collapse lawyers discussing the topic.
Structural collapse lawyers note that the fatal collapse of an outdoor beer garden at a sports bar in downtown St. Louis is raising some questions in the city regarding the safety of these outdoor structures and the standards that regulate them. The tent collapse is blamed on a strong gust of storm wind that ripped through the tent and tore it from its moorings.
The tent collapse in St. Louis killed 1 man, sent 17 people to the hospital, left 4 people in critical condition, and injured around 100 of the sports bar patrons. News accounts of the accident mention that the tent met the city’s safety standards and that the tent had passed inspection just a couple of weeks previously.
Our structural collapse lawyers point out that the city requires that such outdoor tents be able to withstand wind gusts up to 90 mph. The gust that tore down the tent reportedly measured above 70 mph. Investigators are looking into whether the tent had been modified since its initial inspection and whether safety procedures were followed.
Wind gusts from storms have been blamed for a series of deadly collapses of temporary outdoor structures in recent years. Just days ago, our structural collapse lawyers wrote about the collapse of an outdoor stage at Mt. Herzl, Israel that claimed the life of an IDF officer. And last summer, the disastrous Indiana outdoor concert stage collapse claimed several lives and injured dozens more. Particularly in the Indiana accident, controversy centers on the failure to evacuate the premises during storm warnings.
Strong storms and high storm wind gusts are not going to go away any time soon. And people are probably not going to become any more likely to take heed of inclement weather than they are now. Too often, sensationalist storm warnings and frantic calls to take shelter or evacuate become ridiculous when storms change course or peter out before reaching its expected destination. And so people develop inclinations to ignore such storm warnings.
There seem to our structural collapse lawyers to be two primary approaches to the problem of deadly collapses of temporary outdoor structures from high winds:
Vastly increase safety standards and regulations. Note that this approach would likely render the use of temporary outdoor structures too costly and impractical. Such safety standards might, in effect, render these structures only marginally distinguishable from permanent, indoor structures.
Make evacuation of outdoor events and temporary outdoor structures mandatory in the event of any severe storm warning or severely inclement weather. This approach has the possibility of causing injuries from the forced evacuations and chaos that could result from repeated evacuations of large gatherings. It might also render all large, outdoor gatherings impractical throughout much of the nation for much of the year.
But somewhere between no reaction to the problem of wind-related outdoor structural collapses and overreaction there might be a sensible solution based on a modification of existing safety standards and severe weather policies and procedures. Any practical solution will also have to balance the costs of potential injury liability against the costs of disrupting large gatherings and highly anticipated outdoor events.
In the Indiana stage collapse disaster, it has been suggested that better training of event personnel regarding safety procedures, a clearer chain of authority, and better safety planning could have helped avoid the results of the stage collapse.
Regarding the Mt. Herzl incident, authorities seem to suggest that better oversight of the negligent personnel responsible for constructing the stage might have prevented fatal injuries.
It will be interesting to hear the conclusions of the St. Louis authorities investigating the tent collapse, especially regarding whether they find any deviations from the safety standards that the tent reportedly met.
To learn about the detailed of the St. Louis collapse, read our structural collapse lawyers’ description of the incident in the linked article.
The structural collapse attorneys at Denena & Points mention that you might remember that a deadly stage collapse brought on by a storm killed 5 people and injured dozens more at the Indiana State Fair on August 13, 011. Questions have since surrounded the conduct of the Sugarland band manager who is said to have argued against delay of the concert or evacuation as well as the competence of the company that assembled the stage and the conduct of State Fair officials in going forward with events during the storm and failing to have adequate safety procedures in place.
Our structural collapse attorneys note that two outside firms were hired to investigate the accident and issue reports on the causes behind the stage collapse as well as recommendations regarding additional safety precautions that could prevent a deadly structural collapse in the future. The two firms are Washington D.C.-based Witt Associates and a New York-based engineering firm, Thornton Tomasetti. According to Scott Nacheman of Thornton Tomasetti, Mid-America Sound, the company that built the collapsed stage, refused to provide information or interviews for their report.
Nacheman has said that the cause of the stage collapse was an “inadequate lateral system.” He blamed failure of the cables and other components holding the stage up. Nacheman clarified that much testing went into judgment of the integrity of the stage structure, including a wind analysis, laser beam measurement of components of the stage, and collection of weather data. Our structural collapse attorneys point out that wind speeds had reached 59 miles per hour at the time of the collapse. But the metal stage rigging did not meet requirements to withstand wind gusts of 68 mph.
Thornton Tomasetti also found that the wind had shifted barriers located around the stage. The barriers held the stage’s cables. And the shift redistributed the stage’s load, ultimately leading to the deadly and dramatic stage collapse. Thornton Tomasetti also said that Mid-America Sound was faulty in their construction of the stage. In addition, no professional inspectors were hired to evaluate the stage after construction.
The Associated Press reported that Witt Associates’ review of the State Fair’s emergency
plans found “an ambiguity of authority” resulted in confusion and uncertainty as officials discussed whether to postpone the concert. Additionally, the State Fair commission did not use emergency protocols in making their weather-related decisions. The report also concluded that the State Fair’s overall state of preparedness was not adequate for an event of the concert’s size and scope.
The State Fair commission, confronted with obvious evidence of failures, has voted to accept both investigative teams’ reports and to begin implementing their recommendations. Our structural collapse attorneys commend the State Fair for its efforts to prevent future disasters. Since the deadly stage collapse, the Indiana State Fair has already begun to implement changes in its severe weather and crowd control policies. During the 2012 Indiana State Fair, concerts will be held at off-site locations.
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said that, “The State Fair Commission knows that we will insist on immediate and complete implementation of the recommendations in this report. But it’s also now clear that most, if not all states, have been deficient in this area and have much to learn from this tragedy. We will share freely all these findings and suggestions with any state who will listen, starting later this month at a national meeting in Indianapolis about national safety standards for outdoor temporary stages and structures. The meeting is being hosted here because of the State Fair accident.”
Our structural collapse attorneys understand that the Indiana State Fair commission has no real hope of escaping liability for the deadly stage collapse disaster. The Sugarland band manager might also be at fault in the tragedy. To learn amore about the deadly stage collapse and initial response to the tragedy, see our article on the event.
Building collapse lawyers note that the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) had approved a residential bungalow in the Gerritsen Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn for renovation and expansion in early March. Now that the second-story expansion of the bungalow, which was nearing completion, has slid off the first story of the building and fatally collapsed upon a young construction worker, the NYC DOB has approved the building for demolition. The DOB has issued an emergency declaration to speed the demolition of the unstable residential structure. It also has issued an order calling for the temporary evacuation of a neighboring building that was threatened by the collapse.
Santos Garcia, 25, was killed on Tuesday when the second story of the residential bungalow slid from the original first story and collapsed on him while he was on a job for J.D. Construction and Contracting. 3 other workers received injuries in the fatal building collapse. Witnesses say that the building almost slid into a neighboring home.
A DOB spokeswoman admitted that a preliminary investigation following the collapse has indicated that poor “existing” conditions on the original first floor of the building were partially to blame for the accident. The investigation also indicates that a failure to properly anchor the second floor to the first floor contributed to the collapse. The spokeswoman also said that investigators were looking into the question of whether the first floor was even properly designed to support a second story.
Our building collapse lawyers ask whether it might not have been more appropriate to look into that issue before issuing the DOB permit approving the expansion of the now-collapsed and condemned building.
We point out that this is the second fatal building collapse in New York City’s 5-borough region in the last few weeks. Read our building collapse lawyers’ discussion of the fatal Manhattan warehouse collapse that occurred just last month.
Structural collapse lawyers note that a 100-year-old Manhattan warehouse building collapsed this week in a fatal accident that left one experienced construction worker dead and two others fighting for their lives. Investigations following the accident have indicated that the causes were weaknesses in the connection of critical structural members and in old hardware connecting pieces of the structure.
Customarily, two separate horizontal support beams will be joined together at a vertical support column. This type of connection helps transfer some of the stress load off of the horizontal structural members and down the column into the ground.
In the case of this old warehouse, the horizontal beam at the center of the collapse extended past the vertical beam and was spliced to the other horizontal support member by means of bolts. Our structural collapse lawyers point out that the inability of this unusual connection to adequately transfer stress loads led to shearing and wearing of the bolts over time. So when workers demolishing the structure in the painstaking Manhattan floor-by-floor manner cut the beam, the lack of solid hardware connections and a vertical column connection to support the remaining structural members led to a complete collapse of the surrounding building.
The demolition workers did not know of the unique structural weaknesses prior to the collapse. The unusual splice connection of the beams and the sheared bolts were encased within two feet of concrete. And construction drawings of these elements of the century-old building were unavailable after all this time.
The unusual and potentially weak splice connection of the horizontal beams was likely not a part of any original design, but an element added for whatever reason by the contractors when the warehouse actually got built. Our structural collapse lawyers wonder if perhaps a supplier delivered beams of the wrong lengths and the splice was an attempt to finish the building quickly and less expensively rather than wait for the delivery of beams of the proper length. And, of course, drawings would not indicate sheared bolts. The shearing results from excessive stress over time.
In any case, structural connections weakened by time and sometimes caused by poor building practices can always present a danger in older buildings. Weakened connections often present dangers in newer buildings as well. It doesn’t take long for bolt hardware to shear where connections have been poorly designed, spaced, or installed. And shearing occurs even faster where builders have used nails when bolts were actually required.
Each year in the U.S. sees numerous reports of deck and balcony collapses caused by poor structural connections. Indeed, cheap and poorly thought out connections are the number one causes of failure in new decks and balconies. Learn what the structural collapse lawyers at Denena & Points could do to help you if you’ve been injured in a structural collapse caused by weakened connections.
Houston fatal work injury lawyers note that Texas, with its endless miles of roadway and growing population, continues to maintain a solid pace of construction and maintenance work even as the rest of the country slows during the economic downturn. This means that Texas also continues to maintain the highest rate of crane-related work fatalities.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which keeps tabs on the risks of injury, illness, and fatality across all occupations, has tabulated some in-depth information on work injuries and accidents specifically related to crane operations.
For instance, in 2006, the most recent year for which the BLS has extensive comparison data, 72 people died from crane-related work accidents. Our Houston fatal work injury lawyers explain that this number is down from an average of 78 fatal crane-related work accidents during the years 2003 through 2005. Some of the other BLS data indicates that:
While the annual numbers of fatal crane-related work accidents might seem miniscule compared to the numbers of fatal traffic-related accidents each year, that these accidents happen at all indicate a need for greater safety precautions and more stringent safety procedures at job sites using cranes to lift and move heavy objects.
Our Houston fatal work injury lawyers remind you that recent months saw a worker die in a tragic, fatal accident at the Houston Ship Channel when a moving crane trapped him underneath and severed his legs. These horrific accidents are 100% preventable with thorough training and safety procedures.
Where crane owners and job site supervisors fail to take proper safety precautions and prepare a safety plan and injury results, they deserve to be held financially accountable for the negligent oversights that caused harm to others. Learn what you need to do if you’ve been injured in a crane-related accident. Contact the Houston fatal work injury lawyers at Denena & Points today for a free legal consultation and learn more about your potential for a full financial recovery.
Texas structural collapse lawyers note that a massive 8′ x 50′ concrete platform just collapsed into a heap of rubble in Bangkok, Thailand. The platform was part of the “Hopewell Project,” an ambitious rail transit project launched in 1990. The structural collapse of the massive concrete platform nearly pulled a passing transit train into the pit of its demise, but disaster was averted and no serious injuries resulted. However, the train track was blocked and trains were delayed for several hours, disrupting many residents’ schedules.
The Hopewell Project and the platform’s structural collapse provide a telling illustration of the transition of the world from a state of hope, construction, and ambition into its present state of decay and disrepair. The Hopewell Project was abandoned around 1997 due to financial problems and resulting turmoil.
Authorities in Bangkok blamed the structural collapse of the abandoned train platform on substandard construction and on the theft of bolts and steel beams from the steel scaffolding originally intended to support the transit project.
Since the Hopewell project was abandoned and given up as hopeless, corrupt officials and representatives of the construction industry have stolen critical bits and pieces of the abandoned Hopewell project. Now local residents using the rail lines must hope less well, and seek to avoid sudden collapsing structural elements. These greedy, corrupt, and self-serving officials and builders clearly have no disregard for the lives and well-being of the citizens their efforts are supposed to serve.
Our Texas structural collapse lawyers point out that the collapsed train platform component of the Hopewell Project isn’t the only incomplete, abandoned construction project in the active city of Bangkok. Concerned officials point to many and consider them a danger. They point to the removal of critical support infrastructure by thieves and relate the imminent danger of structural collapse from these acts. The lesson should be clear. Darkness may shroud Thai infrastructure projects before it similarly blankets Texas projects, but the Thai collapse is a harbinger of what could happen here.
If you’re injured because of collapsing infrastructure, contact our Texas structural collapse lawyers for a free and confidential legal consultation. Our injury expertise could help you understand your path to full financial compensation from those responsible for your needless harm. Call today: 877-307-9500. Or use our online contact form to schedule your free consultation.
Houston news sites reported recently on the collapse of 2 large buildings in the vibrant historical center of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The story detailed the collapse and possible explosion of a 10-story and a 20-story building in Rio that left debris strewn over a wide area and buried cars and motorcycles in the nearby streets. The explosive Rio building collapse heavily damaged some nearby buildings and left a number of people injured.
The news story contained conflicting reports on whether or not the building collapse caused fatalities. There also appeared to be some uncertainty about the occupancy and use of the buildings and whether or not a natural gas explosion caused the destruction. A bank branch and a bakery occupied part of the lobby of one of the buildings. The building collapses occurred in the evening, so officials hoped for fewer casualties because of the late hour. At least one witness stated that one of the buildings was still heavily occupied when it went down.
Several witnesses reported hearing an explosion before the building came down, and numerous people noted that the smell of natural gas lingered at the scene. (Natural gas has no scent that the human nose can detect; the “natural gas smell” is added to it for safety reasons.) Utilities were apparently cut off to the area afterwards as a safety precaution.
Our building collapse attorneys pass this story along as a cautionary tale. Every year, throughout the U.S. and the globe, a number of buildings explode sue to natural gas leaks that suddenly ignite. Most of these incidents result in some fatalities. Gas is actually a pretty safe utility. When completely contained in piping, and when the gas is turned off when not in use, natural gas is safe.
Natural gas lines can easily cause explosions if they’re ruptured or leak gas in any way. When a leak or rupture occurs, or when the gas source is not completely turned off and gas builds up inside a structure, disaster can result. Any spark, excess heat, or the ill-advised lighting of a cigarette can set off a powerful explosion. The magnitude of the resulting explosion is generally dependent upon the size (diameter) of the ruptured line or the extent of the buildup of trapped gas.
Victims can suffer extensive burns, blindness, loss of limb, or even fatal injuries. Medical costs to treat injuries can soar to astronomical levels. But proving the cause of the injury and the negligence of another party in triggering the disaster is a complex and technical process. Victims need the help of experienced building collapse attorneys and qualified expert witnesses to convince a jury or an insurer of their rightful claim to financial compensation for their injuries.
If a building collapse harms you or a loved one, contact our experienced building collapse attorneys for a free initial legal consultation. Our in-depth knowledge of building collapse causes and issues could be the key to your success in winning a fair financial settlement for your injuries.
Our structural collapse lawyers recently posted an article on a deadly building collapse in Delhi, India. The article detailed some of the problems India is experiencing from a poorly supervised building boom as its economic prospects and urban populations expand faster than its regulatory and enforcement infrastructure.
Bangladesh, the old Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, is experiencing similar problems. Building permit and inspection requirements exist, but builders don’t always follow them. And government enforcement can’t keep pace with building activity, so construction often occurs without necessary inspection and oversight. Disaster sometimes follows in the wake of these lapses.
In the recent collapse of part of Circuit House Road in Ramna in the Dhaka district, officials are blaming faulty design, poor work practice, and failure to obtain required inspections for the collapse of a building foundation site. The building foundation collapse led to the cave in of part of nearby Circuit House Road. The road collapse has resulted in further cracking along the roadway and subsidence to nearby buildings. An old two-story building mere feet from the cave-in is in imminent danger of collapse. And officials say that other nearby buildings, including high rise residential towers, are in some danger.
The collapsed foundation site was a 33-foot ditch. When its pilings collapsed, part of the nearby road caved into the ditch. A planning official for the area stated bluntly that the foundation depth and pilings weren’t adequate for the planned high rise that was to be built at the site. Officials also noted that builders had not informed them in advance that they were commencing work as they were required to do. They also said that builders had not obtained the required safety inspections of the site prior to commencing work.
Residents in the adjacent high-rise towers panicked as the disaster unfolded. Surprisingly no one was injured from the major site collapse. Construction workers fled the scene immediately after the collapse, and the site owners could not be located after the disaster. The local planning commissioner said that legal action would be taken against them, presumably once they can be found.
The army’s corps of engineers moved in to shore up and secure the site. Leaking water supply lines were turned off to prevent further difficulties. Our structural collapse lawyers wish them success in their efforts. They have a major task ahead. The actions of the builders present a step-by-step illustration of what NOT to do in constructing a high rise.
In an unusual balcony collapse accident in Kitchener, Ontario, a second floor balcony on a home collapsed under a man stringing Christmas lights but remained attached to the home. As a practiced balcony collapse lawyer, I suspect that the balcony separated from the front supporting members. The Kitchener, ON balcony dropped and fell against the front of the home where it hung perpendicular to its previous position.
This indicates that the attachment to the home itself through the ledger board was probably still fairly secure. The connected bolts may have sheared some to allow the balcony to hang at a 90-degree angle rather than falling off altogether. So the attachment is no longer structurally sound, and the remainder of the balcony could fall at any time.
The news item describing the accident doesn’t go into detail on the balcony itself. The reporter focused on the poor man left dangling from a tree after his balcony collapsed beneath him.
But for the front edge to have fallen while the back edge remained connected to the wall, we might infer that the balcony was made of wood and that the connecting hardware and support joists at the front had corroded or weakened over time. The balcony might have been 20 years old or more. Older wood finishes don’t protect wood as well as newer treatments. (On the other hand, the newer treatments corrode metal connecting hardware more quickly.)
The wood might have begun to crack and split at the connection points, leaving only a fraction of the original support for the live loads on the balcony. In this weakened condition, the balcony would not have been able to successfully transfer the load of even one adult male. In trying to transfer the load, the stresses could have pushed supporting members away from the balcony floor and rails that they were supporting, leading to a sudden balcony collapse accident.
The 67-year-old man standing on the second floor balcony was both nimble and fortunate. He transferred his live load to the tree beyond the balcony just in time to save himself from a nasty fall. Most victims of balcony collapse are not so lucky. Many receive catastrophic injuries, and more than a few die in balcony collapse accidents.
Prior to its collapse, the balcony in Kitchener, ON might have appeared just as sturdy as always. Corrosion of connecting hardware, slow wood rot beneath the balcony finish, and time-related splitting, cracking, expansion, and contraction of wood structures can require a close inspection and trained eye to detect.
Our experienced balcony collapse lawyers at Denena & Points could help you recover just financial compensation if you’ve been injured by a sudden balcony collapse accident. We’ve guided clients to successful outcomes in several high-profile balcony collapse claims, and we could help you too.
Contact us today through our website or toll-free at 877-307–9500 to schedule a free and confidential legal consultation to discuss your accident. We could explain your legal options in the case and strategies for financial recovery. Our goal is your successful recovery of fair compensation for your unexpected balcony collapse injuries.