Defective Design, Manufacture Or Construction
Defective Design, Manufacture Or Construction in Charleston, WV
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Overview
Buying or building a new home is a huge investment of time and money. When you finally move in and take residency, you don’t expect anything wrong.
Unfortunately, it does happen, and injuries may result from one or more defects in a property.
Home and property owners are then faced with multiple steps to seek remedies for defective design claims. They are required to keep a property safe for all occupants and visitors under West Virginia’s premises liability laws. After discovering a defect, the owner must also seek remedial action against the parties who created the defect for remediation or for financial compensation to make repairs.
The Love Law Firm is experienced with construction law and can help with defective design claims.
Types Of Defects
Problems develop from one or more types of defects:
• Defective design—design errors by engineers and architects can lead to hazards that are eventually built into the final structure; these are difficult and expensive to remedy.
• Substandard materials—using materials that aren’t specified or less expensive to cut corners can compromise structural integrity or the structure’s life span, such as reclaimed materials, windows, doors, roofs, or other components that do not meet code.
• Substandard construction or workmanship—when a contractor or subcontractor takes shortcuts to speed up the project, structural integrity can be breached, leaving the occupants in danger of injury.
• Safety violations—ignoring safety procedures increases risks for both occupants and workers.
• Subcontractors—failure of building contractors to properly handle subcontractors can also lead to substandard construction or workmanship.
These can lead to problems such as:
• Water intrusion from roof defects, plumbing, window, door, and other leaks leads to mold growth, rot, termites, and other damage.
• Structural problems include foundation issues, wall cracks, roof defects, or anything else that threatens structural integrity.
• Mechanical and/or electrical defects such as HVAC system issues, plumbing, or faulty wiring that are not up to code or safety standards can lead to problems later.
• Other design defects and issues that cause structural or functional problems upon completion, such as inadequate drainage, site preparations, or load-bearing calculations.
Left in place, these can cause serious problems that can lead to premises liability issues and render your home unlivable.
Responsible Parties
Construction of a home or other structure involves multiple parties throughout the building process. The type of defect will point to at least one of the responsible parties:
• Architects
• Building material suppliers
• Current or previous property owners
• Designers
• Developers
• Engineers
• General contractors and builders
• Inspectors
• Real estate agents and brokers
• State or city government
• Subcontractors
It’s also possible that two or more parties are responsible for the damage to your home. For instance, a design flaw by the architect may have been made worse by a contractor or subcontractor using inferior materials. In this case, both parties could be held responsible.
Filing Defective Design Claims
Before filing your claim, West Virginia law states that you must first notify in writing any responsible parties and allow them to remedy (“cure”) or to pay for the defects. The letter must detail every defect, and be delivered 90 days in advance of filing your claim.
As the property owner, you are not required to accept their offer, but you must observe the 90-day deadline before filing your claim. The contractor then has 30 days to respond in writing, offering either a monetary settlement without an inspection, an onsite inspection, or a dispute to the claim. This process is to encourage the parties to work on a resolution without the need for litigation.
Should you need to file defective design claims, you may be able to recover damages for:
• Cost of repairs
• Decrease of property value
• Temporary housing expenses, if needed
• Possible punitive damages for improper construction
West Virginia’s statute of limitations is ten years for a written contract, and five years for an oral, unwritten, or implied one.
Defective Design Claims Attorney In Charleston, WV
Defective design and workmanship is a serious matter and can lead to eventual structural damage and possible hazards for occupants. As a property or home owner, West Virginia’s premises liability laws also require you to keep your property in good condition for the sake of occupants and visitors. With defective design, manufacturing, or construction involved, this may make it difficult to keep your property maintained and safe.
Whether you see defective workmanship during construction or discover the defects after you take occupancy, contact our defective design claims attorney immediately to establish both liability and possible safety issues.
Work with a Charleston, WV lawyer with the experience and understanding to help with shoddy and defective design and workmanship cases. Contact Chad Love at The Love Law Firm today at (304) 344-5683 for a free consultation.
Phone:
(304) 344-5683
