After a building or structural collapse, move away from the unstable area, call 911, and get a medical evaluation even if your injuries seem minor. Then document what you can and write down who owned, managed, built, or worked on the structure. Avoid signing anything or giving a recorded statement until you understand your options.
Those steps matter because a collapse often involves more than one responsible party. The owner, a property manager, a contractor, an engineer, or a maintenance company may each have played a role. Your legal path also depends on why you were in the building. A customer, a tenant, a construction worker, and a visitor on government property face different rules.
If you were a customer, tenant, or guest, you may have a premises liability claim against whoever owned or controlled the property. If you were working, workers’ compensation rules may apply first. This article walks through each path and what to protect right now. If you are unsure which one fits, Joe I. Zaid & Associates offers free consultations.
Get to Safety and Get Medical Care First
A structure that has partly failed can fail again. Leave the area, stay clear of damaged walls, ceilings, and balconies, and let first responders handle rescue. Do not go back inside to retrieve belongings.
Tell responders you were hurt, even if you walk away on your own. Ask for the name of the responding agency and any incident number. Those details help you find reports later.
See a doctor the same day if you can. Collapse injuries can include crush injuries, head trauma, and spinal injuries, and some do not cause obvious symptoms right away. Tell every provider that a structure collapsed, so the records describe the cause accurately.
Medical records also become the backbone of any later claim. Insurers may look for gaps between the collapse and your first visit, or between appointments. Following your provider’s treatment plan protects your health and keeps the record consistent.
Document the Scene Before It Changes
Collapse scenes change fast. Crews clear debris, shore up walls, and sometimes demolish what remains. The failed beam, connection, or roof section may leave the site within days. If you can do it safely, capture the scene before that happens. A family member or friend can do it for you if you cannot.
What You Can Capture Yourself
- Photos and video of the collapsed area, the debris, and any visible failure point, shot from a safe distance
- Signs of earlier problems, such as cracking, sagging, water stains, rust, or patched repairs
- Construction or renovation activity, including equipment, barricades, permits, and contractor signs
- Your injuries, plus the clothing, shoes, and phone you had with you, kept in their current condition
- Names and phone numbers of witnesses
- A copy of any incident report the owner or manager prepares
Evidence That Only Others Hold
In a collapse, the cause usually turns on records and engineering evidence you cannot collect yourself. That evidence may include maintenance and repair histories, inspection reports, engineering evaluations, building plans, construction contracts, and insurance policies. Owners, contractors, engineers, and sometimes local building officials hold them.
A preservation letter asks the people holding that evidence to keep it. We send these early, because repairs, demolition, and routine record deletion can erase proof. When the cause is structural, an engineer’s inspection of the failed component can shape how the whole case develops.
Your Legal Path Depends on Why You Were There
Not every collapse creates the same kind of claim. Start with three questions. Who owned or controlled the property? Who built, repaired, or maintained it? Were you working at the time?
Premises Liability for Customers, Tenants, and Visitors
When a building fails, the owner or the party controlling it may face a premises liability claim. These cases often turn on what the owner knew or should have known about the danger. Earlier cracking, leaks, ignored inspection findings, and deferred repairs can all matter. Roofs and ceilings raise their own questions about drainage, maintenance, and structural condition, which is why roof collapse injury claims often depend on specialized records.
Construction Related Claims Against Contractors and Designers
Responsibility can reach beyond the owner. If the collapse happened during construction, renovation, or repair, contractors and subcontractors may share it. If a design or building defect caused the failure, architects and engineers may share it too. A maintenance company that skipped inspections may also belong in the picture. Similar questions arise when work is underway at an open business, as with liability at a store under construction.
We saw how this plays out in an $85,000 premises liability settlement that Joe I. Zaid & Associates recovered. A construction crew installed a step at a grocery store entrance with no warning sign or marking, and our client fell and broke her foot. Responsibility could rest with the store, the construction company, or both. We evaluated whether the construction company shared responsibility instead of handling the claim informally with the store’s adjuster. That case involved a fall, not a collapse, but the lesson carries over. The party controlling the property is not always the only party that created the danger. Past results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Workplace Collapses
If you were hurt while working, workers’ compensation may be your first path. Texas does not require private employers to carry workers’ compensation, so find out whether your employer has coverage. The answer changes your options.
- If your employer has coverage, workers’ compensation benefits are generally the exclusive remedy against the employer. Narrow exceptions exist, such as certain gross negligence death claims by surviving family members.
- If your employer chose not to carry coverage, you may be able to sue for negligence. The employer cannot argue that your own negligence, assumed risk, or a coworker’s negligence caused the injury. You still must prove the employer was negligent.
- In either case, a party other than your employer, such as a property owner, general contractor, or equipment supplier, may also be responsible. Texas law lets an injured employee pursue a third party while also claiming benefits, and the benefits carrier may have a right to reimbursement from that recovery.
Workers employed by contractors and subcontractors face an added hurdle when they pursue the property owner. Under Chapter 95 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, the owner generally is not liable unless two things are true. The owner controlled or retained control over how the work was performed. The owner also knew about the danger and did not adequately warn. Records showing who directed the work become especially important.
Workplace deadlines are short. The Texas Department of Insurance tells injured employees to report the injury to the employer within 30 days. It also says to send the claim form to the Division of Workers’ Compensation within one year. Reporting and documentation steps after a workplace injury can affect both benefits and any third-party claim.
Collapses on Government Property
Claims against cities, counties, school districts, and other governmental units follow special notice rules. The Texas Supreme Court has explained that the claimant must give notice within six months that reasonably describes the injury, the time and place, and the incident. Some city charters set shorter deadlines, so raise the issue early.
Be Careful With Statements, Releases, and Insurers
Report the collapse to the owner or manager, and ask for a copy of any report. Stick to facts. Describe what you saw and felt, not what you believe caused the failure. Guesses about cause or your own conduct can later support an argument that you share responsibility.
That matters under Texas law. A claimant whose responsibility is greater than 50 percent cannot recover damages, and a smaller share reduces the recovery. Even a modest share of blame can cost real money, which is how comparative negligence works in Texas.
Several insurers may be involved, including the owner’s liability carrier, a contractor’s carrier, and a workers’ compensation carrier. An adjuster may call quickly, ask for a recorded statement, or offer a fast payment. Joe Zaid spent nearly a decade working inside the insurance industry before founding the firm, so we know how adjusters evaluate early statements. Before you give a recorded statement or sign a release, understand who else may be responsible and what your injuries may require.
Time Limits Differ by Defendant and Claim Type
Texas generally requires a personal injury lawsuit within two years after the cause of action accrues, which often means the date of injury. The Texas statutes of limitations for personal injury claims also include exceptions that depend on the facts.
Builders and designers can raise a separate timing issue. Texas generally sets a ten year outer limit, measured from substantial completion, on claims against those who design or construct improvements to real property. Exceptions exist, and the statute preserves claims against a person in possession or control of the property when the harm occurs. A collapse in an older building can therefore raise different deadline questions for different defendants.
The shorter workplace and government notice periods described above can expire long before any of these lawsuit deadlines.
When to Talk to a Lawyer
Consider calling before you speak with an insurer, sign a release, or let the scene be repaired. A lawyer can handle the steps you cannot. That includes sending preservation letters, identifying who built, maintained, and insured the structure, and confirming available coverage early. Our attorneys start that work on day one, and we handle personal injury cases on a contingency basis, so clients owe no attorney fees unless we recover compensation.
If a collapse injured you or a family member, Joe I. Zaid & Associates offers free consultations to help you sort out which path applies and what to protect first.
