Walkway Collapses – Who is Responsible?
Recently, the City of Austin took the rare step of shutting down the Wood Ridge Apartments and telling all of the residents they could no longer live there. The City did this because two weeks ago a second story walkway collapsed and the City concluded the entire structure was unsafe. Thankfully, to this point, no one has gotten hurt but obviously if a second story walkway collapsed with people on it, there is a strong likelihood people would be seriously hurt and die.
In the event someone got hurt on a walkway collapse, who would be responsible? The short answer is: anyone who built the walkway. This would include the general contractor, the subcontractors, the construction companies and even the company who poured the concrete. Under Texas law, companies that build apartment complexes have a legal duty to make the apartments safe – and obviously, when a walkway collapses, it is not safe. We have represented numerous clients who have been injured in construction accidents such as walkway collapses and know how dangerous these accidents can be. While the City of Austin took some criticism for forcing people out, the Loewy Law Firm commends the City for doing something before someone got seriously hurt or killed.