Structural engineers take the plans of a building’s architect and developer and interpret them into specifications for materials and structural connecting hardware appropriate for the building’s intended uses and weight loads. Our Texas building collapse attorneys emphasize that load calculations include the weight of the structure itself, plus any people, furniture, equipment, and objects likely to be in or on the building at any given time. Good structural engineers will include a sufficient safety margin to anticipate building users that might tend to overcrowd balconies, decks, porches, and terraces.
A good structural engineer will account for local conditions at the building site that might affect the integrity of the structure. Such factors as local winds, moisture, heat, seismic activity, and soil conditions could strongly influence what grade, strength, amount and type of materials should be used. The deadly collapse of the CTV office tower in New Zealand after strong earthquakes in the area serves as a prime example of what could happen when structural engineers and building inspectors don’t do adequate work.
The veteran Texas building collapse attorneys at Denena Points, PC emphasize that structural engineer must clearly indicate the size and grade of timbers, concrete supports, steel beams, and other structural members. We have more than 12 years of experience investigating serious accidents, gathering and presenting strong evidence, and conducting negotiations and trials for injured victims. So we know that when the structural engineering job is not done properly, entire buildings can fall with only minor over-stressing. The new Dallas Cowboys training facility that collapsed two years ago, severely injuring two Cowboys employees, was blamed partly on supports that were too narrow and too widely spaced. A high wind blew the entire structure down soon after it was built because engineers had not done their proper job.
Click the link to read about the recent collapse of a steel-framed equine barn under construction atTexas A&M University. That collapse injured four construction workers as they were in the process of bolting steel members together at the pinnacle of the structure. Our Texas building collapse attorneys note that Texas A&M University is highly regarded for its famed Engineering school. But the Texas A&M Engineering department was not building the barn. It was a Houston company, Gamma Construction.