Falling glass from an upscale hotel in downtown Austin, Texas may likely lead to complex construction litigation, according to a report at austin.yy.com. A local Austin attorney filed a negligence lawsuit against the W Hotel on behalf of two people who suffered injuries from falling glass from the hotel’s balconies.
According to the injury attorney, his clients suffered bruises, abrasions and cuts, which required stitches. The falling glass incident occurred last month and injured two other people not listed in the lawsuit. A falling glass incident at another W Hotel in Atlanta in May killed one woman and injured one other person. In that incident, the woman fell from a 10th floor window, allegedly because the window shattered.
The fatal Atlanta accident put the hotel on notice of problems with its windows, according to the Austin attorney.
In the wake of the incidents, management closed the W Hotel in Austin while workers look into the cause of the falling windows and make necessary repairs. Investigators point to extreme heat, wind or faulty glass as possible causes. A consulting firm hired to investigate speculates that loose grout and concrete might be to blame for the glass coming loose.
Workers removed over 600 of the 1000 glass panels on the hotel’s balconies.
Colson Hicks Eidson – Florida lawyers