Schools & Architects Risk Liability With Traditional Wired Glass

Traditional wired glass poses liability risk for school districts, private Schools and architects

In June 2013, the Kent, Washington USD paid out $2 million and issued an apology to settle a lawsuit stemming from a student injured by falling into an unsafe, traditional wired glass opening. The student sued the school district in federal court saying school officials were negligent because they should have been aware of the inherent danger of the glass and removed it.

“A property owner must act reasonably in light of what it knew or should have known,” said attorney Kenneth Lumb, a trial attorney at Corboy & Demetrio in Chicago. “It is virtually impossible today to plausibly claim ignorance of the dangers of wired glass in impact areas in light of the information available on the internet, in trade publications, and other sources, not to mention the number of injuries and six and seven figure verdicts and settlements that have resulted from those injuries.” Read more…

FAQs: Safety & Security

Explore everything you’ve ever wanted to know about school glazing requirements, codes covering exit corridors and stairwells, protecting against ballistic attack and forced entry, and much more. Read more…

Update master specifications for fire rated glass

If you haven’t updated your office’s master specifications for fire rated glass in the last two years, chances are that it is out of date. The 2012 IBC includes three updated charts that show the correct and code approved applications for fire rated glass.

SAFTIFIRST developed a simple one-page reference guide to help you in updating the fire rated glass section of your firm’s master specifications.