New York Building Collapse Lawyer
Whether you are a construction worker involved in a project or a civilian inside or nearby a building when things go wrong, you have the right to compensation if you were hurt by a building collapse. Whether the building was under construction, completed, occupied, or even about to be demolished, a building collapse is always unexpected and extremely dangerous. A building may partially or totally collapse, and anything from a staircase crashing to a ceiling caving in to a building collapsing from the foundation can have catastrophic consequences. When a building collapses unexpectedly, it is usually someone’s fault.
If you or someone you care about has been injured or killed in a building collapse anywhere in the Hudson Valley area, including Kingston, Marlboro and Ulster, contact a dedicated building collapse accident attorney at Rusk, Wadlin, Heppner & Martuscello, LLP, for a free consultation. We will investigate the circumstances of the collapse and pursue your claims against real estate developers, building managers, construction companies, and any other parties who must be held responsible for your injuries, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and other damages.
Who is Responsible for a Building Collapse?
Building collapse accidents can present some of the most challenging personal injury claims. Most collapses are preventable, but identifying who made what errors and who should be held responsible can be a complex and tricky process. Holding someone liable entails identifying the cause of the collapse, determining whether the collapse resulted from a latent defect, and establishing that some particular party responsible for that defect’s installation, inspection, or maintenance should have identified the defect and known that it carried a foreseeable risk of causing injury.
There are a variety of parties who may be held responsible for a building collapse in New York. Potential responsible parties include, but are not limited to:
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General contractors. If a construction process is inadequately managed or pursued, such as if materials are not provided or safety measures are ignored, then a collapse may be the responsibility of the general contractor.
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Sometimes a building collapses because a specific phase of construction was negligently performed. A welder may have left parts of the building inadequately secured, a roofer may have failed to properly insulate the roof from rain, or some other subcontracted job may have been left unfinished, leaving the building subject to collapse in whole or in part.
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Building owners or managers. If a tenant or guest in a building is injured when part or all of a building collapses, the building owner or manager may be at fault. A landlord is likely at fault when a collapse is caused by something within the landlord’s control and/or knowledge, such as rust, mold, termites, water leaks, or untreated fire damage.
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Engineers or architects. It may be the case that every phase of construction went forward as planned and a building was built exactly to specifications, but the building still fails. When that occurs, the plan itself may be to blame. An engineer or architect may have made errors in their math or overlooked some important aspect of construction such as securing against earthquakes. Sometimes an engineer accounts for the weight of the building itself but fails to account for the weight of everything to go inside the building, including people, equipment, and other items.
Third-Party Liability
If you are a construction worker hurt in a collapse while on the job, your options for recovery against your employer might be limited to workers’ compensation. However, if a building collapse occurred due to the negligence of another party, such as a vendor, subcontractor or demolition services provider, you may be able to bring a claim directly against that third-party for additional damages. Also, building owners and contractors are absolutely liable to workers injured in gravity-related accidents under New York’s scaffold law. Talk to a seasoned building collapse attorney about your accident to find out if you may be owed more than the benefits recoverable through workers’ compensation.
Reach Out to a Passionate New York Personal Injury Lawyer for Help After a Hudson Valley Build Collapse
For a free consultation on your possible building collapse injury claim, contact the dedicated and professional building collapse injury attorneys at the New York personal injury law firm Rusk, Wadlin, Heppner & Martuscello, LLP, in Kingston at 845-331-4100 or in Marlboro at 845-236-4411.
