You were heading down the stairs at work when your jacket caught on the railing. It all happened so fast that you barely remember the fall. It seemed like a small mistake that turned into a big injury, but it may be someone’s negligence that caused your accident. Building codes exist to make sure that you can safely be on the premises without the constant fear of injury. The laws can be exhaustive, with rules outlining railing styles to avoid catching clothing or measuring staircase widths to the inch to allow for traffic. These rules are in place to keep buildings safe for your use. If a short-coming in compliance resulted in your serious injury, then you could win compensation. Building a safe space California has a wealth of standards that apply to buildings to avoid hazardous conditions:
- Treacherous stairways
- Faulty wiring
- Improper ventilation
- Deficient fire safety systems
- Mismarked exit ways
Negligent framework You will likely need to prove a series of connections to earn help. In California, three main points may stand before you:
- Duty of care: State and federal laws usually require building owners to make sure their property is up to code. Materials, components and systems all need to be in line with regulations to ensure a reasonable level of safety to people in the building.
- Breach of duty: If something in the building that was not up to the standard of the law causes your injury, the owner could be found negligent.
- Substantial factor: If the injury you suffered caused you to miss work, go to the hospital or experience other pain and suffering, you could receive compensation.
If you are suffering because a building you were in wasn’t up to code, you could get recompense. Understand your rights and what it means to be up to code, and you could be on your way to getting the help you need.