When Property Goes Wrong – Your Rights After An Injury
Brian O Sutter
Premises Liability
In September of 2019, a serious accident occurred in New Jersey when a deck collapse occurred. While it’s practically on the other side of the country, this incident is a perfect example of what some Florida residents may end up dealing with as well – though maybe not on as large a scale. Property related injuries caused by faulty construction, inadequate safety measures, and more can all have a huge impact on your life and understanding your rights and what will happen afterwards is important. Luckily, you do have rights under Florida law and learning more about them is well worth doing.
The Accident In Question
The accident occurred on September 14 in Wildwood when three levels of decking collapsed on top of one another, injuring 22 people including three children. All of the injured were taken to hospitals for treatment. While none of the injuries were life threatening, the accident was still serious enough to leave victims struggling to recover.
Already, laws and restrictions as well as building codes are being looked into to determine exactly what happened as well as what kind of options those hurt may have for seeking compensation or restitution.
Property Related Injuries And Your Rights
While this accident occurred in New Jersey, the state has similar laws in place protecting victims as Florida and most of the rest of the country. In essence, if you are hurt due to the recklessness or negligence of someone else then you may have the right to seek financial compensation for those injuries.
But what does this mean? The specifics can vary, but some examples of negligence or recklessness include the following:
• A construction company skips certain building codes or builds part of the property in a way that is unsafe or dangerous.
• Property managers fail to maintain a building properly.
• Those in charge of a property fail to repair damage appropriately or to provide warnings about the damage or other safety risks.
In short, you’ll have to prove that someone acted in a negligent or reckless manner and that those negligent actions are what caused your injuries. However, in property related injuries like slip and fall cases this isn’t always easy to prove.
The reason is that you must show that the person responsible acted in a negligent or reckless manner knowing full well that their actions were as such. For instance, you have to actually show that the person or people knew that a safety risk was present – if that can’t be shown, then your case is much weaker.
However, this means that you may be able to seek compensation from individuals as well as construction companies, contractors, and more. You may be owed money for medical bills, lost wages because of missed work, and more.
To get what you’re owed, you’ll need to enlist the help of professionals. Good personal injury lawyers with experience in handling slip and fall property injury cases will be the key to getting what you deserve. They can prove fault even in difficult cases and ensure that you are able to move on after an accident.
Our team is here to help. Contact us to get your free consultation and see what our team of professional attorneys can do to help you recover fully after a property related injury.