A building collapse lawyer helps people catastrophically hurt, or families who lost someone, when a structure gives way. At Rosenthal, Kooshoian & Lennon, LLP, we investigate why the collapse happened, hold every responsible company accountable, and pursue the full compensation these devastating injuries demand, whether you were a construction worker on the site or a bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A collapse happens in seconds and changes everything. Walls, floors, scaffolds, and trenches that were supposed to hold come down on the people below, and the injuries are almost always severe. Our Buffalo building collapse attorneys know how to work backward from the rubble to the decisions that caused it. This is one focus of our broader Buffalo construction accident and personal injury practice, so the full weight of the firm is behind your case.
Call us 24/7 at 716-854-1300 to speak with a personal injury lawyer near you, or contact us for a FREE consultation.
More than a whole building coming down. A collapse claim covers any structural failure that hurts someone, from a scaffold or a floor giving way, to a trench caving in on a worker, to a wall or roof failing during demolition or new construction. If part of a structure failed and injured you, it fits here.
These failures show up across every kind of project in Western New York, on high-rise sites, in renovations of old buildings, on excavation and utility jobs, and during demolition. What ties them together is that a structure that should have held did not, and someone got hurt because of it.
Both workers and the public. Construction workers are the most common victims, but a collapse can also injure or kill pedestrians, neighbors, tenants, delivery drivers, and inspectors who happened to be nearby. The legal path to compensation is a little different depending on which you were, but both can recover.
That distinction matters, because a worker's claim runs partly through the workers' comp system while a bystander's runs through ordinary negligence and premises liability. We handle both, and in a serious collapse there are often several injured people with different kinds of claims arising from the same failure.
Often, yes, and you should. Workers' comp covers your medical care and part of your lost wages, but not your pain and suffering, and you generally can't sue your employer. A separate third-party claim against the other companies responsible for the collapse can recover everything comp leaves out.
New York also gives construction workers strong protections when a structure or safety system fails, which can make these claims especially powerful. Between comp and a third-party claim, the full value of a serious collapse injury is far higher than comp alone, and coordinating the two correctly is a core part of what we do.
You have a claim too, through ordinary negligence and premises liability. If a collapse hurt you while you were walking by, visiting, or living in or near the property, you can pursue the owner, contractor, or other party whose carelessness caused the structure to fail.
These cases can be just as serious as a worker's, and sometimes more, because a bystander had no warning and no protective gear at all. Whether it was falling debris from a construction site or the failure of an aging building, the question is the same: whose negligence let it happen, and we find the answer.
Almost always a failure someone should have caught. Design and engineering errors, cutting corners during construction, overloading a structure, failing to shore or brace an excavation, defective materials, and unsafe demolition are among the leading causes. With older buildings, deferred maintenance and ignored warning signs are frequent culprits.
Trench cave-ins deserve special mention, because they're both common and preventable. Excavations must be properly sloped, shored, or shielded, and when a company skips those protections to save time, the soil can bury a worker in seconds. Whatever the failure, a collapse is rarely an accident in the true sense. It's usually the predictable result of a choice, and identifying that choice is the core of the case.
Usually more than one company. Responsibility can reach the property owner, the general contractor, the subcontractor whose work failed, the engineer or architect behind a flawed design, a demolition or excavation contractor, and the manufacturer of a defective material or support. Each is a separate source of accountability and coverage.
Untangling who did what on a project with many companies is demanding work, and it's where these cases are won or lost. We investigate the whole chain, from the plans and permits to the crew that did the work, because a collapse this serious usually has more than one party at fault, and more than one policy to answer for it.
Because the scene doesn't last. After a collapse, the site is cleared quickly for safety and recovery, and the physical evidence, the failed materials, the way things came down, can be gone within days. Once it's hauled away, proving what happened gets much harder.
That's why these cases turn on moving fast. The moment we're retained, we work to document and preserve the scene, secure the plans, permits, inspection records, and safety documents, and bring in structural engineers who can determine why the structure failed. Waiting lets the most important proof disappear, and no owner or contractor is going to preserve evidence that points at them.
Collapse injuries are among the most severe in all of personal injury. Being struck or buried by a failing structure commonly causes crush injuries, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, and multiple fractures, and the worst collapses cause amputations, suffocation, and death.
Survivors often face many surgeries, long rehabilitation, and permanent disability, along with the trauma of the event itself. Because crush and internal injuries can be life-threatening even when they aren't obvious at first, immediate medical care is critical after any collapse, both for the person's survival and for the claim that follows.
The family may have a wrongful death claim, brought through the estate, along with a survival action for what their loved one suffered. For a worker who was killed, workers' comp death benefits may also apply, alongside a third-party claim against the responsible companies.
Collapse deaths are among the most preventable losses there are, and holding the responsible parties fully accountable matters, both for the family and for the workers who come after. We handle these cases with the care a grieving family deserves.
A building collapse claim can recover your medical bills, lost income, reduced future earning power, pain and suffering, and the cost of long-term care, and for a worker, it runs alongside workers' comp benefits. Where a company's conduct was truly reckless, punitive damages may be possible.
Because collapse injuries are so catastrophic, the future costs, surgeries, lifelong care, lost earning power, often dwarf the immediate bills, and the insurer's first offer never reflects them. We build the number with your doctors and with economic, vocational, and life-care experts, so the demand covers the full arc of what the collapse took from you.
By the full lifetime cost of catastrophic injuries, weighed against every responsible party. Because these injuries are so severe and often permanent, the value can be substantial, provided the injuries and the companies' liability are proven thoroughly.
The figure reflects your medical care, your permanent limitations, and the effect on your ability to work and live, and it rises with the severity of the harm. A spinal cord injury or an amputation carries decades of costs, and capturing them takes careful work with the right experts. We build the value and prove who's responsible, so every party at fault, and every available policy, is on the table.
Generally three years from the date of injury to bring a lawsuit, and generally two years for a wrongful death claim if someone was killed. For an injured worker, workers' comp has its own shorter deadlines, and if a government or public entity is involved, a formal notice can be due within 90 days.
The real urgency, though, is the evidence. The collapse scene and the records that explain it can be gone long before any legal deadline, so the sooner a lawyer can act to preserve them, the stronger your case.
Get emergency medical care first, because collapse injuries are often severe even when the adrenaline hides them. If you were a worker, report the accident to your employer. Photograph the scene and your injuries if you safely can, get the names of witnesses, and be careful what you say to any insurer before talking to a lawyer.
Beyond that, hold onto everything and get legal help quickly, because the site will be cleared fast and the evidence with it. Don't give a recorded statement or sign anything from an owner's or contractor's insurer without advice. The faster a lawyer can move to preserve the scene and the records, the better your chances of a full recovery.
We move immediately to preserve the scene and reconstruct what failed. From the first days, we document the collapse, secure the plans and records, and bring in structural engineers to determine why the structure gave way, then build the case and prepare it as if it's going to trial.
Our attorneys identify every responsible party, from the owner and general contractor to an engineer, subcontractor, or manufacturer, and apply New York's worker-protection laws where a worker was hurt. For a worker, we handle the comp claim alongside the third-party case; for a bystander, we build the negligence claim against those responsible. We document your injuries and their long-term impact, press the claim against every available insurer, and file suit in New York State Supreme Court when needed. We keep these matters in house from start to finish.
We represent injured people and grieving families across Western New York, and we handle collapse cases the same way we handle every case, in house, start to finish, through settlement, trial, and appeal. We know how to preserve a collapse scene, work with engineers, and hold powerful contractors and their insurers accountable.
These cases reward a firm that moves fast, understands both the worker and bystander paths, and isn't intimidated by the companies and experts on the other side. That's what we bring, along with straight answers in plain language, so you always know where things stand. You focus on healing. We'll handle the investigation and the fight.
If a building, scaffold, trench, or other structure collapse hurt you or took someone you love in Buffalo or Western New York, the attorneys at Rosenthal, Kooshoian & Lennon, LLP are ready to help. Contact us for a free consultation, and a Buffalo building collapse lawyer will review what happened, explain who can be held responsible, and lay out your options, with no fee unless we recover for you.
Don't wait, because the evidence won't. The sooner we start, the more we can do to preserve the scene, identify everyone responsible, and protect your right to full compensation. When a crane was involved in the collapse, our crane accident lawyer page covers that overlap as well.
Call us 24/7 at 716-854-1300 to speak with a personal injury lawyer near you, or contact us for a FREE consultation.
Disclaimer: This page is for general information only and isn't legal advice. Reading it doesn't create an attorney client relationship. Laws, benefits, and deadlines can change, and the rules described reflect New York law as of 2026. Every case is different, and prior results don't guarantee a similar outcome. For advice about a specific incident, please consult a licensed New York attorney.
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