Whenever people enter into a building, they trust that it is structurally sound. Collapse most likely does not even cross their minds. However, buildings do occasionally fall, and victims of these rare incidents can sustain severe injuries.
Causes of Building Collapse
There are many different causes for the collapse of a structure such as a building. One of the most talked about incidents of building collapse is that of the World Trade Center. The structure crumbled after being impacted by two large airplanes. While this was a very rare occurrence, the collision of planes into buildings, usually unintentionally, does happen.
More commonly, structural issues are the main causes of the fall of a building. These problems include the following:
- Poor building design: not taking into account how large a load may be applied to the building, or what sort of wear the structure will experience over time
- Poor building construction: not using proper fasteners or materials, or putting the structure together in an incorrect manner
- Foundation breakdown: choosing a poor building site on which to lay the foundation or laying a sub-quality foundation itself can cause even a very stable structure to fail
- Overloading the building: typically, unexpected natural overloads, such as heavy snow or earthquakes, can result in building collapse
One or any combination of these four causes, or any unexpected incident such as the aforementioned plane crashes, can result in building failure.
Contact Us
If you or someone you know has been injured in a building collapse incident, please contact the Minneapolis personal injury lawyers of Terry, Slane, & Ruohonen, P.L.L.C. at 612-362-0000 today to set up an appointment.
