Business owners, property owners, landlords, contractors, and inspectors can be held liable for injuries sustained from a balcony, deck, or porch collapse. A balcony, deck and porch collapse lawyer can assist you with evaluating your underlying legal claim and determining your next steps if you choose to move forward with legal action.

Premises liability law can be complex and having an attorney who has practiced in this area can give you peace of mind so that you can direct your focus to recovering from your injuries. Countless individuals suffer in accidents every year due to poor construction or poor maintenance that leads to collapsing balconies, decks and porches.

The injuries associated with these incidents can be minor or catastrophic in nature. Some of the most common injuries reported to porch, balcony and deck collapse lawyers in Pennsylvania include paralysis, sprains, broken bones, bruises, head trauma, and internal organ damage. In some case, fatal injuries might occur.

Causes of Porch, Deck, and Balcony Collapses

Many different factors could contribute to the underlying instability of a porch, balcony or deck. When these collapses occur, it is important for a victim to be able to get medical attention immediately and also to gather any relevant evidence that could be connected to the cause of the accident.

If it can be shown that the property owner should have known about the risks or failed to appropriately construct or maintain the area, this could be raised in a premises liability lawsuit brought by the victim. Victims of porch, deck, and balcony collapses could be entitled to financial compensation for their injuries.

While you might associate the collapse of porches, decks or balconies with older buildings, collapses can even occur with new homes if defective construction is the cause. Some of the most common issues related to balcony, deck, and porch collapses include:

• Deterioration of materials, such as wood rot or rusting nails.
• Too much weight; when excessive weight is on a porch due to a appliances or heavy furniture this can cause a complete collapse.
• Inappropriate safety inspections. Safety inspections that have been ignored pose a risk for those present on a balcony, deck or a porch when dangerous conditions cause a total collapse.
• Porch age. A porch, deck, or balcony that has not been required to meet current building codes could be extremely dangerous due to dry rot and rust.
• Improper construction. One common reason for a deck collapse has to do with the deck getting pulled away from the house. If the construction professional working on the project never connected the right board to the proper structure, this could lead to the failure of the deck entirely.

Determining Liability in A Collapse

More than one person or entity could be responsible for your injuries and financial damages in porch collapses. If you are at a public location or friend's house, the premises owner is most likely responsible for the injuries you have sustained. A further investigation of the balcony, deck or porch collapse could reveal that other third parties might also be named in the lawsuit, such as a construction or maintenance company.

If the injury occurs at another party's home, this legal action could begin by filing a claim with the homeowner’s insurance policy. If the injury happens at your own home but you do not own the property, the next step to begin an investigation could be locating both those parties. If you rented the apartment or home, the landlord is the most likely individual responsible for property damage or injuries tied to a porch, balcony or a deck collapse.

If a safety inspector or city inspector should have alerted you to structural issues that ultimately caused the downfall of the porch, deck, or balcony, that person could be held liable for resulting collapse. It can be very difficult to identify the parties potentially at fault for that incident.

Investigating the Scene of the Collapse

A thorough investigation might need to be carried out by your Pennsylvania balcony, deck or porch collapse lawyer. The victim of an accident must prove that the manager, property owner or a construction company named in the lawsuit should have known that the porch, deck, or balcony was not safe, but did not post a warning or repair it.

A business or a landlord property owner has a legal responsibility to keep guests safe while there on the property. The property owner must have acted or failed to act in order to proceed with a suit.

Balcony, Deck, Porch Collapse Lawyer Recovery

You might be able to initiate a lawsuit or claim for damages to get compensation for lost earning capacity, damage to your property, medical expenses, mental anguish, pain and suffering, lost earning capacity, and lost wages from work. Schedule a consultation today to learn more.