Builder’s Violation of ADA Causes Trip and Fall

Recently we had the pleasure of representing an innocent pedestrian who suffered serious personal injuries after tripping and falling due to a builder’s violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Our client, who suffered multiple injuries including a rotator cuff tear, was walking along a sidewalk in Miami, when she came upon an area under construction. The builder had erected a temporary sidewalk, made of wood, presumably for pedestrians to bypass the construction site.

Unfortunately, the builder failed to properly maintain the wooden sidewalk, allowing the wood to root. Due to the rotten wood, the pedestrian crashed through the sidewalk, tripping and falling to the ground. Investigation revealed that the builder violated ADA standards by using wood to construct its temporary sidewalk. Additionally, our investigation proved that the builder failed to properly maintain its improper sidewalk. Had the builder followed the industry requirements, this preventable fall would not have occurred.

Too often we confront uncaring builders and construction companies who continually do what is cheap and fast, rather than what is mandated and necessary. We continually pursue cases like this one to hopefully remind the construction industry of their duty to the general public.