Building Collapse Accident Injury

Construction sites are usually associated with building new structures, not the collapse of structures. However, building collapse that may occur on a construction site be either planned or unplanned. For example, a new office building may be going up on a location currently occupied by a derelict building. In this case, construction crews will have made plans to collapse the derelict building before breaking ground on the new structure. These sorts of demolition events are dangerous even though these events are carefully planned with safety in mind. A building that collapses on its own due to poor construction or some other reason related to the negligence of one or more individuals can easily cause fatal crushing injuries and other serious harm to workers and unwary citizens trapped near the building.

Demolition-Related Building Collapse

In some areas of the country where land for new construction is scarce, it may be necessary for a building to be demolished prior to the building of a new structure. In a sense, a building demolition event is supposed to be a planned and controlled building collapse.

There are many opportunities for things to go wrong in a demolition event:

• The charges planted may detonate early before the building is clear and before the demolition workers intend to detonate the charges;
• Individuals responsible for checking to ensure the building is clear may perform a haphazard or cursory inspection and fail to discover workers who are still in the building;
• The demolition site may not be appropriately cordoned off to prevent pedestrians and curious passersby from walking onto the jobsite;
• Other workers and people in the vicinity may not have been given appropriate notice that a demolition was about to take place and may be unaware of the time and date of the planned demolition as well as what precautions they need to take.
• The demolition charges may be too powerful and may cause the building to “explode,” sending shrapnel and debris flying outward and away from the blast center, rather than “implode” and collapse into itself.

Where a demolition is necessary, the general contractor is often the individual responsible for ensuring that a qualified and reputable demolition crew is hired to perform the necessary work. Charges should be placed at appropriate areas and be of a sufficient strength to complete the job but not so powerful that the blast creates additional, unnecessary dangers. It is imperative that walkthroughs be conducted before charges are detonated to ensure that no one remains within the building. When the charges are detonated, any individual caught in the blast radius or inside the building will almost certainly be crushed to death, caught up in the explosion, or fatally injured by flying debris. If this occurs, the demolition company as well as other responsible parties may find themselves liable to the surviving family members of the decedent for monetary damages.

Other Causes of Building Collapse

A building (whether existing or a new structure) may also collapse unexpectedly for a variety of reasons. Like building demolitions, those who are inside a building as it collapses or who are near the building can be trapped by falling debris. It would not be out of the ordinary for one or more victims to be buried alive, to suffer traumatic brain injuries as the result of falling debris, suffer broken bones and internal trauma as a result of being trapped between floors or the structure of the building.

A building may unexpectedly collapse as the result of:

• Being struck by a piece of heavy machinery;
• Faulty laying of the foundation or construction of the lower floors;
• Placing too much weight on upper floors;
• Being exposed to extreme weather events or natural disasters such as earthquakes or tornados.

Buildings that are constructed according to code usually do not collapse in the absence of some extreme weather event or (more often) negligence or carelessness in the construction of the building. After an unplanned and unexpected building collapse, victims and/or the surviving family members of decedents should use the resources of an experienced construction accident lawyer to help determine the cause of the crash and identify the parties responsible for the crash.

Stern Law, PLLC has years of experience in helping individuals injured in building collapses investigate the cause of the accident and determine whose negligent actions played a role in the collapse. In so doing, attorney Ken Stern is able to assist building collapse victims and the surviving family members of deceased collapse victims recover compensation that can assist in helping them meet the financial burdens these incidents cause. Call (844) 808-7529 and enlist the assistance of Stern Law, PLLC today to help in your building collapse lawsuit.