Building Code Violations

A building code is what spells out the rules for keeping buildings and other structures minimally safe. Unfortunately, sometimes property owners and proprietors fail to keep buildings up to code or outright ignore their legal obligations to do so. This can have disastrous results and lead to serious injuries. If you or a loved one has been injured, and that injury was caused due to a failure to keep a building up to code, you could be entitled to significant financial compensation, and our team of personal injury attorneys at the Greater Boston Area firm of Altman & Altman LLP can help you towards a solution.

Here in Massachusetts, the Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS) adopts regulations and provisions of our building code. Building inspectors who have been certified by the board are responsible for administering the code. Building codes are adopted for good reasons, and people are injured when codes are not followed properly. Innocent tenants, guests, customers, and clients are frequently harmed due to building code violations, and they may be able to recover damages under a legal theory called premises liability.

In our Commonwealth, a violation of the building code will provide sufficient evidence of a property owner's negligence, as long as the violation contributed in some way to causing the injury.

For example, if a property owner was in violation of a requirement regarding providing safe exits in the event of a fire, and a person suffered burn injuries because they couldn't escape the burning building, that building code violation would be evidence of negligence – and entitle the victim to compensation to pay for things like medical bills and make up for lost wages from being unable to work.

Common building code violations may involve:

• Sprinkler systems and fire escapes – are they so old/degraded that they no longer function?
• Elevators – have they been adequately inspected for safety on a routine basis?
• Structural defects – such as decaying staircases, crumbling foundations, etc.
• Emergency lighting systems – do they function as necessitated by law?
• Exit signs – are they illuminated and placed in a manner where they are visible?
• Exterior locks – do they function, or can they be easily bypassed?
• Gas fitting – has the system been adequately inspected?
• Electrical wiring – is frayed wiring visible, have circuits been checked for issues?

The premises liability attorneys at Altman & Altman LLP are some of the best that you will find in all of Massachusetts. We will utilize our vast experience and talents in personal injury law obtain financial compensation for you and your family. We are sensitive to our clients' predicaments, and unlike many other lawyers, we will always make ourselves available to address your needs.

In our more than 50 years of combined experience, we have developed an extensive network of premises liability experts, a knack for investigating the circumstances of accidents and injuries, and most importantly, a knowledge and mastery of premises liability law.

We are so confident in our ability to get favorable settlements and verdicts for our clients that we operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you will not have to pay us unless we are successful. Therefore, you have nothing to lose by calling 617.492.3000, toll free at 800.481.6199 or contacting us via our convenient online chat.