The Blu Cantina restaurant, an eatery located in Castleberry Hill, which is a suburb of Atlanta, had its roof fall in during the month of July. On a Monday night near 9 p.m., a rainstorm bore down on the city; the flat roof of the restaurant could not stand the added weight from the water, and shortly after the storm began, the roof collapsed. Authorities said that 6 people were injured when the incident occurred. There were no severe injuries, but 4 were taken to the hospital; 1 of those 4 may have had a head injury that required an overnight stay. Luckily, the other 24 people inside the restaurant were unharmed. The restaurant was closed followed the incident. Shortly after, a spokeswoman addressed the accident, explaining that the building suffered structural damage and that the restaurant would be closed for the foreseeable future.

Responsabilidad civil

Downtown LA Law Group can help those who have been injured in roof collapses. Our premises liability lawyers are some of the top attorneys in the state, and we don’t rest until we’ve earned you a fair settlement. Visitors to properties come in one of three categories: invitee, licensee, or trespassers. Trespassers are those illegally on property; this includes criminals and similar thieves, or those who are scouting houses to rob or searching for shortcuts through the neighborhood. Licensees are those who are invited onto the property for a non-commercial benefit. The most common example is a social guest, or anyone you have over as a friend or acquaintance. Invitees are owed the highest duty of care. They are people who enter your property or business for a mutual benefit; essentially, they are customers, and enter a premises armed with the knowledge that they are protected to the best of the owner’s ability. There are three main points that must be established before you can file a premises liability claim. They are:

• The owner or possessor knew or should have known of the dangerous condition, and should have known that it created an unreasonable risk of harm, and likewise should have known that the plaintiff would fail to discover the dangerous condition.
• The owner or possessor did not make the condition safe or failed to warn the licensee of the condition.
• El titular de la licencia no conocía la situación peligrosa ni los riesgos que entrañaba.

In cases of premises liability, the crux of the matter usually boils down to whether or not the property owner did have or should have had knowledge of the problem with the structure. There are times when it is impossible to have previous knowledge; for example, if a hurricane comes through a city and tears a tree out of the ground in someone’s backyard, resulting in damage to a neighbor’s home, there is no valid claim that the property owner should have been aware of the dangers of the tree. If, on the other hand, the tree had a dangling branch and strong winds blew it loose, leading to it crashing through a neighbor’s window, then the owner should have known the dangers beforehand and cut the branch off. With the Blu Cantina roof collapse, the argument can be made that there was a structural flaw present in the design of the building, and the owner should have corrected it as soon as possible. A flat roof will hold water, and thus, hold more weight; slanted roofs allow water to slough off and not compromise the structural integrity. Further, no guests were warned of the possibility of a collapse, and the guests certainly did not walk into the restaurant knowing that the roof may fall in, else they likely would not have gone there in the first place.

What You Can Earn

If you were injured while a licensee on a property, you may be entitled to compensation stemming from a premises liability claim. You may have suffered broken bones, a head injury, lacerations, torn muscles, spinal injuries, and more. These injuries allow you to recover various damages, including:

• Medical Costs: If an unsafe environment or hazardous object at a property caused you harm in some way and forced you to seek medical treatment, you can be reimbursed for those costs. These expenses include medication, medical treatment, surgery, physical therapy, and more. Further, if your doctor declares that you will need follow up appointments or additional surgery and therapy, you can be covered in the future as well.
• Lost Wages: Some injuries keep you out of work for some time. You can recover both past and future wages for your job if an injury prevents you from working.
• Property Damage: You may have lost property or had belongings damaged in an accident stemming from a structural failure. You can be reimbursed for these items.
• Pain and Suffering: An injury that occurs in a public establishment or a business can cause severe social anxiety and future fear. You may be afflicted with mental damage, psychological scarring, and PTSD as well, if the injury were enough to cause any of it.
• Punitive Damages: If a property owner were grossly negligent in his duties and expressly refused to make his property safe, he may be hit with punitive damages; these damages are issued in place of criminal charges and are meant to further punish the defendant in terms of paying even more money. Courts usually view these as unnecessary, however, and only an expert lawyer will be able to win them.

Downtown LA Law Group: Here to Win

Downtown LA Law Group is one of the premier firms in Los Angeles. We have dealt with premises liability cases for years and have recovered millions of dollars for our clients. Our group of attorneys is empathetic and cares for your health; we want to make sure that your quality of life is not worsened by your injury. A collapsed roof should not happen, and any injuries that stem from it should be covered by the restaurant or business establishment. We offer you a free legal consultation on your case. You can ask us any questions you want, and we will give you our best knowledge on the subject, as well as give you advice and pointers on how best to move forward with the legal process. If you select us to represent you, we have a zero fee guarantee in place that promises that you will not pay a single cent to us until and unless we win your case – and if we lose, you owe us nothing. To make it as beneficial to you as possible, we also do not take any funds from your pocket; our fees come from the settlement we win for you, so the liable party is covering your attorney’s fees as well as your injury. Call Downtown LA Law Group today to get more information on premises liability cases.

Further information:

Roof Collapse Attorney