As barricades started going up around the four-story apartment building that collapsed in the downtown Athens district of Petralona on Tuesday – to prevent tampering with the site – and a prosecutor ordered an investigation into the incident, residents of 22 Alkminis Street are dealing with the loss of their homes and their belongings, and the knowledge that any restitution lies at the end of a long and arduous road through the country’s court system.
“The prosecutor will order a forensic investigation, and once an official expert is appointed, the affected parties can request to bring in their own technical adviser. A lawsuit for damages can then be filed against the liable parties based on those findings,” attorney Dimitris Bolis tells Kathimerini.
“But despite the progress made in the judicial system in recent years, it will certainly take at least two to three years for an initial court ruling.”
Five suspects have been arrested and released in connection with Tuesday’s incident, which is believed to have been provoked by excavation work on an adjacent lot for the construction of a new building.
“The affected owners can take relatively immediate action by filing for an injunction, requesting that the presumed liable parties cover their monthly housing expenses – provided the owners can prove financial hardship – until a final verdict is reached. This offers the quickest path to temporary relief,” says Bolis.
