2003 Chicago Balcony Collapse - Aftermath

Aftermath

Three days after the disaster, the city sued the owners and managers of the building in the Housing Court due to a number of breaches in building regulations. Those named in the complaint included LG Properties, the company's president Philip Pappas, and George Koutroumos, the contractor who built the balcony. The city was reportedly seeking $500 per violation for each day the structure was in existence, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a court order for the replacement of the balcony. The apartment block was legally uninhabitable until the balconies were replaced, as they provided mandatory emergency exits. The city's Buildings Department inspected forty-two other buildings owned or managed by Pappas and/or LG Properties for similar violations. The city also claimed that twenty-one other buildings owned by Pappas had similar problems. They did, however, note the fact that he had since made "dramatic improvements" to all twenty-one porches.

In the aftermath of the disaster, Chicago inspected a huge number of similar structures to ensure they were safe, with 500 cases being turned over to the city's Law Department for court action, and 760 cases referred to administrative hearing officers.

Pappas continued to blame overcrowding for the disaster. However, an undercover press investigation discovered all his properties now display notices forbidding parties on the balconies. Pappas also claims that a police report says two unnamed witnesses informed a paramedic that they saw several people "jumping up and down" on the balconies shortly prior to the collapse.

In 2005, the city of Chicago filed a negligence lawsuit against two of the survivors, William Fenton-Hathaway and John Koranda. The city alleged that the balcony collapse occurred after defendants Fenton-Hathaway and Koranda "intentionally and negligently" began jumping up and down on the porch. Koranda's brother, Robert Koranda, was killed in the collapse. The charges against Fenton-Hathaway and Koranda were later dropped.

No criminal charges were filed and Pappas was fined a total of $108,000 as a result of the collapse. Twenty-seven families sued Pappas and the city over the accident. The balcony was rebuilt afterwards, this time with metal.