Structural collapse attorneys relate an unusual and unexpected partial building collapse in Houston, TX. An office building in Southeast Houston in the 12000 block of Featherwood near Fuqua suffered a sudden structural shift on Friday morning that caused pieces from the ceiling to rain down around startled workers and visitors.

The unexpected structural shift was accompanied by a loud crack as the floor suddenly dropped. A support column on the northeast side of the building shifted. Walls and windows shook as the northeast side of the building dropped two full inches. A resulting crack has appeared on the outside of the building.

The structural collapse accident occurred about 9 a.m. when about 250 people were inside the building. The office building was evacuated because of the dangers of possibly greater structural collapse presented by the shift. Patients under anesthesia in a dentist’s office at the time of the structural shift had to be awakened. They were able to exit the building safely, and no injuries were reported. According to news accounts, no broken gas or water pipes resulted from the accident.

You might not know that parts of Houston sit on minor fault lines. Fault lines can cause sudden shifts in the earth and the building foundations sitting on it. Subsiding lands due to emptying water tables or gas or oil pockets can also cause sudden structural shifts. Most of Texas sits over what used to be seabed. Continuous changes in the underlying sediments cause expensive “settling” problems in building foundations over much of the state. News accounts of the structural shift didn’t specify a precise cause of the sudden accident at the office building on Featherwood.

Our structural collapse attorneys are relieved to hear that no injuries resulted from the sudden structural shift. We expect that a lot of people experienced rather frightening starts to their days inside that building on Friday. Sudden structural shifts of that nature are not something you expect in Houston, Texas.

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