Canadian engineer Enrique Tabak has been fined $12,040 by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers in relation to design errors that led to the sudden collapse of the Dallas Cowboys practice facility in May 2009. Tabak prepared the design plans for the tent-like facility while working for Summit Structures LLC, a PA subsidiary of Canadian firm Cover-All Building Systems.

The structural collapse attorneys at Denena & Points note that Cover-All has since declared bankruptcy. A Cover-All company official acknowledged that potential engineering issues made one type of its buildings susceptible to collapse under certain weather conditions. The conditions included winds like those present on the day the Cowboys training facility collapsed with disastrous results for two Cowboys’ employees.

The structural collapse of the 88,000 square foot facility occurred during a windstorm while Cowboy rookies held a mini camp. The steel and canvas facility’s dramatic collapse resulted in the paralysis from the waist down of scout Richard Behm as well as a broken spine in Dallas Cowboys special teams coach Joe Decamillis.

Our structural collapse attorneys point out that the $12,040 fine is only an administrative penalty. Tabak never admitted to wrongdoing or error. And because he no longer practices in Texas, the Board can’t revoke his license, which constitutes their harshest penalty in such matters. While the fine represents one of the largest sums charged by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers (“the Board”) during the past several years, it stands as a paltry sum next to the cost of the injuries the collapse inflicted.

Our structural collapse attorneys clarify that the amount of the fine results from a formula that assigns a maximum value of $3,000 to individual violations. Tabak did not contest the Board’s order setting the amount of the fine.

The Board and the lawsuits of Behm and Decamillis claim that Tabak signed off on and sealed design plans that did not comply with applicable engineering standards. The design plans allegedly were not prepared in a careful and diligent manner. An engineer out of Texas A&M contends that Tabak’s calculations for the Dallas Cowboys facility represent gross error and that not a single engineer found has been able to call Tabak’s calculations correct. An engineer involved in studying the collapse of New York City’s World Trade Center also disparaged Tabak’s calculations.

Our structural collapse attorneys mention that Tabak had defended his apparently erroneous calculations to the Board, and tried to blame the collapse on the weather. The NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) stated that the winds that brought the practice facility down ranged from only 55 mph to 65 mph, far less than the 90 mph forces that a properly engineered structure must withstand under current engineering standards.

Behm and Decamillis have also filed a lawsuit against Scott Jacobs, a Las Vegas engineer responsible for repairing the building in the year prior to its collapse. The Board is in the process of conducting an investigation of Jacobs. Behm and Decamillis have received about $34 million from Cover-All and from companies under the control of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in settlement of lawsuits to date.

If you’ve been injured by an unexpected structural collapse, and you need help proving who’s at fault for the accident, contact our experienced structural collapse attorneys at 877-307-9500 for a free and confidential legal consultation. Or use our convenient online contact features to schedule your case evaluation consult. For more than 12 years, we’ve been helping the injured victims of dangerous structural collapses to gain the financial compensation they deserve for their needless harm. We could help you too.