Two people were injured after a building in Yonkers partially collapsed on June 21. According to an ABC7 New York news report, officials said two individuals were on the third floor of the North Broadway building when a floor and a wall on the first floor collapsed into a vacant basement. Both people suffered non-life-threatening injuries and had to be taken out of the building using a bucket and a tower ladder.
Older Building with Eroded Foundation
ABC7 reported that the following day emergency crews were still dealing with the aftermath of this partial collapse. Yonkers fire officials said they had a crew on fire watch to help ensure that the scene was safe for engineers who were in the process of deciding whether to repair the building or tear it down.
Yonkers fire officials said the buildings in the surrounding area are structurally safe. The building that collapsed is over 100 years old and officials believe that the foundation may have eroded over time. It is indeed a relief that no one suffered major injuries in this partial building collapse. We wish the injured victims the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.
What Causes Building Collapses?
Decisions made during the building’s lifecycle, from design and construction to maintenance and renovations, play a significant role. Corruption, lack of oversight, and ignorance of safety standards can all contribute to failures and lead to building collapses.
A number of factors may be involved in a building collapse, including but not limited to:
- Design flaws: Inadequate structural design can lead to insufficient load-bearing capacity, making buildings vulnerable to collapse. Flaws in architectural and engineering calculations can compromise the building’s integrity, particularly under unexpected loads or stress.
- Construction errors: Mistakes during construction, such as improper installation of structural components, use of substandard materials, or deviations from approved designs, can weaken the building. Poor workmanship, lack of supervision, and cutting corners to save costs are common issues.
- Material failures: The use of defective or inappropriate materials can lead to structural weaknesses. For example, steel and concrete are critical for modern buildings, and their failure due to poor quality or incorrect mixing ratios can have catastrophic results.
- Environmental influences: Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and heavy snowfall can exert forces that exceed a building’s designed capacity. Soil conditions, like subsidence or erosion, can also undermine the foundation, leading to collapse.
- Maintenance deficiencies: Over time, buildings require regular maintenance to address wear and tear, corrosion, and other forms of degradation. Neglecting maintenance can allow minor issues to escalate into major structural problems.
Liability in Building Collapse Incidents
Under New York’s premises liability law, the owner of a property or a landlord (building owner) is required to exercise reasonable care of the property. They are required to inspect the property regularly. They must also regularly maintain the property, which includes checking for hazards and repairing those dangerous conditions. Building owners are also required to warn tenants and those living or working on their property about existing dangerous conditions.
Generally speaking, landlords (building owners) and property managers can be held liable if there are structural issues that result in injuries. Whether it’s a floor collapse, stairway collapse or wall or balcony collapse, the liability attaches on property owners or property managers because they have an obligation to inspect, correct the defects and warn tenants about possible dangers in a timely manner. Tenants, visitors or guests who have been injured due to the negligence (carelessness) of a property owner/manager, may be able to file a premises liability lawsuit seeking compensation for their injuries, damages and losses.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident because of the negligence (carelessness) of a property owner or property manager, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. Our law firm helped a hot water burn victim secure $750,000 in damages from the property owner and manager.
For over 53 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. We recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and $2,000,000 in a hit-and-run accident, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: https://abc7ny.com/post/partial-collapse-inside-yonkers-building-injures-1-person/14984917/