Three lawsuits were filed initially but now have been consolidated into one case against the Kendall County Fair Association.
BOERNE, Texas — Several people are suing a nonprofit following a deadly bleacher collapse in Kendall County. A 79-year-old woman died and 11 people were hurt on August 31 during the popular rodeo event hosted by the Kendall County Fair Association.
Three lawsuits were filed initially but now have been consolidated into one case against the association. They all claim the nonprofit was negligent. This includes the family of the woman who died.
Attorney Pablo Rivera was hired by Caesar Jimenez and Crystal Alejandro from Uvalde. He filed a lawsuit on behalf of the parents and their two children who were there that night in a VIP box section attached to the bleachers.
“The people that were on top of it just fell down and not only, they fell and the height is pretty substantial and then everyone else just fell on top of each other,” Rivera said.
He said all four were hospitalized. In the lawsuit, it states they fell through the metal purlins and “Crystal Alejandro managed to catch her son, but her daughter was pinned between metal purlins, and her foot became wedged between a chair and a purlin.”
The lawsuit states they are seeking $1 million in damages.
“As you can imagine it was a pretty traumatizing event,” Rivera said.
Bryan Verdekel also filed a lawsuit. He stated he broke his ankle and had to have surgery after the bleacher’s collapsed. He too is seeking $1 million dollars in damages.
Then the sons of Vera Smith, also sued the association. The 79-year-old grandmother died in the hospital six days after the collapse.
Each lawsuit claimed the association ignored the requirement to obtain a permit and inspection of the bleachers. It also claimed the association used untrained workers to construct them.
The City of Boerne confirmed back in September, the organization did not apply for a building permit and they were welding up until the day before the event.
“My clients are a family of four that was there just to have a great time, have fun and this tragedy occurred, and it was a serious incident,” Rivera said.
Attorney David Jewett represents the Kendall County Fair Association. He said he had no comment to KENS 5 regarding the lawsuits but did file a response with the court, denying the allegations.
Meanwhile, a city official with Boerne confirmed the city dished out $7,000 to hire an engineering firm to investigate the cause of the collapse. The spokesperson said while the report is complete, the city is not releasing it because the overall investigation into the matter is still ongoing.
However, the city did confirm the Boerne Police Department has turned over its findings to Kendall County District Attorney’s Office.