Deck collapses happen all the time, and many of them never make the news.
Several years ago, I attended an all-day training session put on by a leading manufacturer of metal structural connectors for decks, homes, and other structures. They estimated at the time that over 80 percent of the decks in the United States are structurally deficient and ticking time bombs. That speculation is staggering, and it should immediately put your head on a swivel.
My youngest daughter’s roommate was a victim of one of these deck collapses. She walked out onto a small deck four years ago and it detached from the building. Both the woman and the deck crashed 12 feet to the ground. She was rushed to the hospital with a ruptured spleen and a broken neck. She survived but is now partially disabled.
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