Imagine for a moment that you are enjoying your new back porch when suddenly the structure beneath you starts to shift. Suddenly, you find yourself plummeting to the ground below. You suffer serious injuries during the fall — ones that require extensive medical treatment. You even miss work because of your recovery.
While most people might quickly chalk this up to an accident, you soon learn that your porch failed because of a defect in the construction materials used to build the structure. If you’re like many of our San Diego readers, a situation like this might leave you angry because your injuries were the direct result of someone else’s negligence. It’s because of this that you might begin to consider seeking compensation.
If a situation such as this were to occur, you’d probably know exactly who to hold liable for your injuries: either the construction company who built the structure and/or the manufacturer of the construction materials. But what if the property was state owned? Would that change who you could hold liable for your injuries?
If we use the example of the case Wright vs. California we can see that the answer could be yes. For those who are unfamiliar with this case, it involved a former prison guard who was seriously injured when a concrete step on his home crumbled beneath him. Because the property was owned by the state of California, the San Quentin guard wanted to hold the state accountable for defective construction.
But holding the state accountable for its negligence proved to be a difficult task. It finally required the intervention of the California Supreme Court which agreed with an Appeals Court decision that would allow the man to seek compensation from the state.
You have the right to legal counsel
Whether you’re trying to seek compensation from the state or simply trying to hold a contractor accountable for their negligence, it’s important to remember that you can take legal action with a skilled lawyer at your side. Many people find lawyers invaluable in construction disputes because they can help you understand the law better in order to know when you are getting a fair deal or not. This is something our San Diego readers may want to keep in mind down the road.