Michael Beaudry is Executive Vice President of NADRA, the North American Decking and Railing Association. He ties many of the estimated 225,000 injuries from stair, railing, and deck collapse failures from 2003 to 2008 to the advanced age of the structures.
Mr. Beaudry believes that contractors and dealers in decking supplies should make it part of their jobs to promote safety issues to the homeowners building the structures. His message is that part of that emphasis on safety would include warning homeowners about the potential dangers of collapse from aging structures.
Michael Beaudry suggests reaching out to America’s approximately 309,000 homeowners associations. Some of these associations have already become more safety conscious regarding outdoor structures, since many insurance companies require annual inspections to ensure code compliance and safety.
NADRA estimates place more than half of the approximately 40 million decks in America at more than 20 years old. Mr. Beaudry stated that many injuries occur because the structures are near the end of their useful lives. He says that it’s not that the structures were built wrong, but that decks, porches and balconies are outdoor products. And it’s a natural progression that over time they need to be replaced. He did concede that some of the structural failures could be blamed on more lenientbuilding codes of the past.
Mr. Beaudry admits that the increased safety awareness would likely result in a greater sales volume when concerned homeowners replaced their older decks. Money is a great motivator. If it takes additional profit to get dealers and builders thinking about your safety, at least it raises safety concerns.
As porch, balcony, and deck collapse attorneys, we generally see safety concerns raised only after the fact by liability issues from a deck collapse. And isn’t it better to raise safety concerns before a deck collapses and injured you?
Our experienced porch, balcony, and deck collapse attorneys will be here to help you if you do receive injuries from a falling deck or other structure. We’re here to help if you lose loved ones to a tragic structural collapse.
We could help you recover the monetary compensation you deserve to become financially whole again after your accident. We could also help you hold accountable those whose negligence caused the structural collapse. But we could all benefit more if increased safety awareness and efforts can prevent the negligence behind many of those injurious structural collapses.