Police Detective 1

Q: I am a city police detective.  In the course of my work day, I discovered that an accumulation of construction debris had caught fire.  I would say that the general contractor and the subcontractor had failed to comply with the construction-site waste-control standards set forth in the city administrative code.  While attempting to rescue some homeless people who had camped out there, I was injured.

A: The contractors will doubtless argue that (a) there is no proof that they had permitted accumulations of construction debris in violation of the statute and (b) your injury is attributable to the independent and ‘superseding’ acts of homeless people.

Your attorney will seek to counter such arguments with evidence that the contractors knew that the area was attractive to homeless people and that such people had been starting fires to keep warm and/or that the contractors had been repeatedly reprimanded with respect to their handling of debris.

You will also wish to sue the security guard company, if any.  Most likely, the administrative code also requires the contractors to have competent watchmen on duty.  If the watchmen failed to observe the fire, a crowd around the fire or people responding to the fire, you have evidence that the watchmen were not competent.

By: Scott Baron,
Attorney at Law Advertorial

The law responds to changed conditions; exceptions and variations abound. Here, the information is general; always seek out competent counsel. This article shall not be construed as legal advice.

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