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Re: IL AHJs not responsilbe for fatal inspection oversights
That decision was likely based on precedent. One set here in Florida.
Back in 1978 (I think it was) the city of Hialeah was sued as part of an action involving a project which was constructed with 4" thick concrete walls where 6" thick concrete walls should have been used.
Everyone involved was sued (naturally), and the Florida Supreme Court ruled that municipal inspections are not intended to verify that each and every item and portion of a given structure is 'up to code minimum', but that their inspections are there for 'oversight with regards to the population in general, i.e., that your building does not negatively impact the area around it.
The city was released from the lawsuit. That precedent has been used in many cases around the country to help cities protect themselves from similar lawsuits.
Ever since then, actually, ever since I heard about that case, in the early 1990s, I used that to show why a home inspection WAS needed. That when a builder says 'it passed inspection', that is only saying 'well, if this place falls down, it will not negatively affect the area around it', not that 'this was built right'.
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