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California Construction Safety in Question Due to Lax Oversight of Building Inspectors

A report in the San Francisco Chronicle confirms every Los Angeles construction accident lawyer’s worst fears, that the majority of managers who supervise construction safety may have a less than stellar safety record.

The report specifically focuses on one particular instructor who was given the responsibility of monitoring the construction of R Roger Rowe Elementary and Middle School.  When the Rancho Santa Fe School District hired Richard Vale in 2009 to inspect the reconstruction work at the school, all they knew was that he had a reliable work history.  He had been approved by the Division of the State Architect to inspect a public school and community college project in 2005.

However, unknown to the Rancho Santa Fe School District, Vale had a construction safety felony conviction to his credit.  He had been convicted of a construction safety case, and had been terminated from the inspector program in Los Angeles.  Back in the 90s, he had been charged with knowingly overlooking the installation of unsafe seismic anchors in the wells of numerous buildings throughout Los Angeles. Vale pleaded no contest to charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

However, the architect’s office allowed him to monitor the Rancho Santa Fe project.  Under his supervision, the District constructed a number of buildings, including a new performing arts center, a music room as well as technology and science labs.  The reconstruction was massive, and included renovation of all classrooms and construction of new two-storey buildings.  All of this was done under his supervision.

If all that was not enough, in 2007, Vale was also hired to inspect the construction of a new locker room, gym and swimming pool facility at the Palo Verde College in Riverside County.  In 2007, he was also selected to work as a building inspector on another renovation project at another high school in San Bernardino County.

The fact that a building inspector with such a blemished record was in charge of conducting inspections of construction projects at several schools in California should be a cause for alarm.  However, that is not the end of it.  An earlier investigation by California Watch found that several such building inspectors exist in California.  According to the California Watch investigators, close to 300 building inspectors have been cited by the state of California for work-related deficiencies.  These included at least 44 who supervised projects in the Bay Area alone.  However, strangely enough, at least two thirds of the building inspectors were allowed to continue monitoring school construction projects.

California Watch gained access to the performance ratings of these buildings inspectors.  An analysis of the ratings shows that inspectors in several construction projects were accused of several activities, including filing false reports with state regulators.  Some of these inspectors missed key moments of construction.  Other inspectors missed safety defects that were later discovered by the engineers.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of construction accidents in Los Angeles. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire to discuss a personal injury matter,  you can reach us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

 

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