On Sunday afternoon, an elevated backyard deck separated from a house in Evans Mills and sent the 7 people gathered there for a BBQ tumbling 10 feet to the ground. 5 of those people sustained injuries severe enough to send them to the hospital, though none of the injuries is reported to be life threatening. Yet we remind you that even non-life threatening injuries can be severe and lead to long recoveries. Such injuries might include a broken pelvis (a frequent injury in deck and balcony collapse falls), other broken limbs, head trauma, and serious lacerations and contusions.
Firefighters who responded to the Evans Mills deck collapse accident said that the wood of the deck had been so rotten and the deck’s connection to the house so old that they caused the deck to simply fall away from the house. (WWNY TV 7, 5/11/14) The deck collapse injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC wish the victims of the fall rapid and complete recoveries from their injuries.
A Reminder to Inspect Your Own Deck for Safety
Our experienced deck collapse injury attorneys note that the integrity and proper construction of a deck’s connection into the home is of primary importance to your safety and the safety of your guests. Without properly sized and anchored connecting hardware (which should be bolts and NOT nails), a strong ledger board, and proper flashing to seal the connection and prevent moisture seeping into the house, the deck and connecting parts of the home could rot, connecting hardware could pull out of the main structure, and the deck could suddenly separate from the home and drop. Just as it happened at Evans Mills.
Building inspectors caution that three main risks could turn your backyard deck into a dangerous collapse and liability issue waiting to happen:
Weather that rots or dries the wood rapidly or corrodes connecting hardware.
Old building codes that were less strict than those in use now.
Pine needles, leaves, and other debris that gets behind the ledger board and retains moisture leading to rot and loosening of the deck connection to the home.
The deck collapse injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC remind you to inspect your backyard deck at least once per year to locate safety issues before they become injury hazards. Look at the bolting of the deck to the home. Look for any rot or separation of the deck and its connections from the home. Check for cracked or splintered wood and for corroded hardware. Check the sturdiness of any deck rails and stairs. Deck rails that fall away while you’re relaxing and leaning on them can cause you to fall and lead to injuries or fatalities even when the deck itself does not give way.
To learn more about the dangers of deck collapse and how you could help prevent one, download our free report on balcony and deck safety from this web page.