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Houston Building Collapse Injury Lawyer

Have you been injured in a building collapse in Houston, TX? You may be entitled to compensation through a personal injury lawsuit or a workers’ compensation claim. The money you recover can help with your medical expenses and lost wages during your recovery and into the future.

An experienced Houston building collapse injury lawyer at Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers is here to help. We will fight for the maximum compensation you deserve.

Contact our law firm today at (713) 500-5000 to schedule your free consultation to find out how we can help.

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How Our Houston Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help with a Building Collapse Case

When your life is forever changed by a horrifying building collapse accident, you are probably left with many questions.

How will I pay for medical treatment? Will I be able to return to work? How will I support myself and my family? While you have many potential avenues for recovering compensation, this is not always easy.

Except in the case of workers’ compensation, recovering money requires proving negligence. That means a long and in-depth investigation into what caused the collapse and who is responsible.

After a devastating building collapse, it’s important to have a personal injury lawyer on your side. Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers advocates for accident victims in Texas with a sterling reputation we have built thanks to our positive track record and trial experience. Brian White is a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, a distinction that gives him an advantage in the courtroom.

Our law firm also has the financial resources necessary to conduct the thorough investigation needed in a building collapse case and hire experts. This can make a difference when determining liability and proving why the accident happened.

When you hire Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers to represent you, you can count on our Houston law firm to:

Perform a careful investigation of your accident
Identify possible avenues for compensation by identifying parties that may be liable
Gathering evidence to demonstrate negligence and the extent of your injuries
Consult with top experts in engineering, construction, and medicine to strengthen your case
Handle all paperwork and communications
Negotiate on your behalf to seek maximum compensation

We are not afraid to take your case before a jury if negotiations with the insurance company fall apart. With Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers, you are not alone in your fight for the fair compensation you deserve. Contact our law office to schedule a free case review with a compassionate Houston building collapse lawyer today.

What Causes Building Collapse in Houston?

Building collapse is more common than many may think. In October 2020 in Houston, a Marathon Oil building partially collapsed while under construction, killing three construction workers and injuring another.

This deadly accident happened when a concrete stairwell collapsed.

According to one study of 225 building failures across the country between 1989 and 2000, low-rise buildings accounted for 63% of collapses. Apartment buildings were the most frequent types of buildings to fail.

A building does not collapse for no reason. Outside of natural disasters, buildings collapse when they lack structural integrity. At some point, someone was negligent to cause a building to collapse.

Some of the most common causes of building collapse include:

Damaged, weak, or improperly designed or installed foundation
Poor design
Defects in engineering or architecture
Defective or low-quality building materials
Excess weight load
Failing to follow proper safety procedures during construction, renovation, or demolition
Ceiling collapse
Failing to test the structure’s strength during construction
Severe water damage
Construction worker errors

Your personal injury attorney in Houston will conduct a careful investigation into your accident with the help of experts to determine why the collapse happened and who is to blame.

Common Injuries in Houston Building Collapse

A building collapse can easily lead to serious and even catastrophic injuries or death for occupants, construction workers, and others. Attorney Brian White & Associates, PC regularly sees the following types of injuries after a building collapses:

Building collapse is a frightening experience that can result in multiple injuries and even fatalities. Even people who were not in the building when it collapsed can suffer serious injury including pedestrians on a sidewalk or parking lot and motorists.

The injuries you sustain in a building collapse may leave you paralyzed, with permanent cognitive changes, and facing intensive and lifelong therapy and medical care. This serious financial burden should not be on your shoulders.

Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers represents victims in seeking full compensation from the at-fault parties.

Who Is Liable for a Building Collapse in Houston?

When a building collapses, a thorough investigation must be conducted to determine why it happened and who shares liability. Depending on the circumstances, multiple parties may share financial responsibility for injuries and damages.

This may include:

Architects and engineers. These professionals are responsible for designing the building and ensuring it is structurally sound and safe. This requires considering materials, height, anticipated load, foundation, soil, and more.
General contractors. The contractor must execute the design that has been provided and ensure materials are safe. They must supervise to ensure the foundation is compliant and monitor fill material, soil, and other conditions.
Subcontractors. The subcontractors who do not follow directions or otherwise behave negligently may be held partially at fault.
Demolition companies. When a new structure must be built or an existing structure is considered dangerous, it should be demolished in a safe and controlled fashion.
Equipment or material suppliers and manufacturers. A building may collapse if the construction materials are defective. In these cases, the suppliers or manufacturers may be held liable.

There are many parties who may share even partial blame for your injuries. It’s crucial that your building collapse lawyer in Houston conduct a thorough investigation to identify potentially liable parties and determine the cause of the collapse.

Compensation for Building Collapse Injuries

Depending on the circumstances of your case, you may have multiple avenues for recovering compensation after a building collapse.

If you were involved in a workplace accident, your recourse will depend on whether your employer has workers’ compensation insurance and who was liable for the accident.

If your employer is a subscriber, you must go through the workers’ compensation system. While the benefits are somewhat limited, this is a no-fault system that does not require proving negligence.

If your employer is a non-subscriber, you may be entitled to file a personal injury lawsuit against your employer, but this requires showing they were negligent.

Through the workers’ compensation system, you may be entitled to:

Medical expenses
Temporary income
Impairment income
Supplemental income
Lifetime income
Burial and death benefits for surviving family members

A personal injury lawsuit allows for more broad damages including compensation for your actual lost wages (not a percentage) and non-economic damages like pain and suffering and mental anguish.

Even if your employer was not negligent in a work-related accident, you may still have a case against other negligent parties including manufacturers, the building engineer or architect, and contractors.

Statute of Limitations to File a Building Collapse Claim in Texas

When you are injured in a building collapse, you are subject to a strict statute of limitations that creates a legal deadline for filing a claim. If you miss this deadline, you lose your legal right to seek compensation. The statute of limitations depends on the type of claim.

For personal injury and product liability lawsuits, there is a two-year statute of limitations. This deadline begins on the date of the accident. If you are filing a workers’ compensation claim, you must notify your employer right away and file an injury report within 30 days.

Do not assume that you have time to put off filing your claim or building a case. Delays can allow valuable evidence to be lost which may weaken your case. Contact a Houston building collapse lawyer as soon as possible to begin building your legal claim.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Houston Building Collapse Injury Lawyer

A building collapse is a frightening and traumatic experience. Along with the psychological trauma you experience, you may be facing years or even a lifetime of painful recovery and medical care, an inability to work, and financial uncertainty. A Houston building collapse injury lawyer can help you hold the responsible parties accountable or recover the workers’ compensation benefits you deserve.

Contact Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation today. Whether your injury occurred on the job or you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, we are here to help. You pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover for you.