LaVERGNE, Tenn. -- James Adams fell at least 10 feet when his deck's stairs suddenly gave way two weeks ago.

"We was going to grill some hamburgers, and I was headed down the stairs," said Adams. "I got on the third step ... I seen that left runner give way, and I had time to in my mind to think, 'This ain't good.'"

The fall caused several fractures to his vertebrae and a broken arm.

"I think I was laying on nails," he said. "I had a big gash on the back of my head. It was bleeding."

To look into how the 7-year-old deck may have collapsed, the Channel 4 I-Team called in home inspector Dick Schor -- the same inspector who pointed out the problems with decks featured in the I-Team's investigation last week.

"In middle Tennessee, every homeowner that has a deck should come outside and look at what I'm going to show you," said Schor.

The biggest problem Schor found was what's described as overcuts: where the builder cut too far on the stairs at the corners.

On Adams' stairs, the overcuts are everywhere on the stairs' two support boards. Schor believes the steps collapsed because they were cut so deeply in several places.

"That's a 20 percent reduction in the strength of the wood," Schor said.

And because the same builder built decks for many homes in Adams' neighborhood, the I-Team looked around and found other decks with overcuts.

"That's a forbidden construction technique," Schor said.

Schor also pointed out that the stairs didn't have a recommended third wooden support, didn't have metal hangers to secure the stairs to the landing and sunlight was seen between two slats of wood under the stairs that should be sealed tight.

"I think the deck was built improperly to begin with," Schor said.

Anticipating a lawsuit, the builder, Jerry Butler, told the I-Team he would wait to respond through an attorney. But he said he believes the deck was built properly at the time.

The LaVergne Codes Department shows it did pass inspection.

A codes official said someone from the department may go out and look at Adams' deck and others in his neighborhood after the accident that left Adams, a truck driver, temporarily confined to his chair.

"I've had two open-heart surgeries, and it was the worst pain I've ever had in my life," he said.

A city inspector is going to look for major problems with decks, such as if they're bolted properly to a house or if the guardrails are correct.

Those overcuts are a problem, but it's the inspector's discretion to decide if a deck with overcuts is unusable.