KENDALL COUNTY, Texas – The nonprofit in charge of hosting the annual Kendall County Fair is facing multiple lawsuits after a bleacher’s partial collapse killed one person and injured 11 others at last year’s fair.
The partial collapse of the Kendall County Fair Grounds’ rodeo arena seating happened around 9:15 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2024, the Boerne Fire Department said. Fire officials said eight of the 12 injured were taken to a hospital for further treatment.
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One of the eight people hospitalized — a woman — suffered critical injuries. Six days after the collapse, the woman died of her injuries.
Kendall County EMS officials identified the woman as 79-year-old Vera Smith.
According to court documents filed in the 451st District Court in Kendall County and obtained by KSAT, three lawsuits — including one from Smith’s family — were filed against the Kendall County Fair Associati on, the nonprofit that owns the Fair Grounds and hosts the fair every Labor Day weekend.
The Smith case, filed by her two biological sons, is described as a wrongful death lawsuit, court documents indicate.
The suit alleges that the nonprofit “improperly attempted to salvage an older structure instead of purchasing new and/or safe bleachers” and “failed to perform a sufficient inspection and evaluation to ensure the premises were safe to use,” among other allegations.
Boerne city officials told KSAT on Sept. 5, 2024, that the bleachers at the Fair Grounds’ rodeo arena were not inspected prior to the collapse.
In a second lawsuit, a man claims he was sitting in the bleachers on Aug. 31 when they partially collapsed. According to the suit, the man broke an ankle in the aftermath of the collapse. His broken ankle required surgery.
Documents show that the man is seeking $1 million in damages as well as compensation for past and future medical expenses, physical pain, physical impairment, mental anguish and possible disfigurement.
The third lawsuit was filed by a family from Uvalde who attended the fair and was seated in a VIP box attached to a set of bleachers.
Following the collapse, the third lawsuit alleges that the floor underneath the family of four also collapsed. One of the family’s children was pinned between two structural beams while a foot was “wedged between a chair” and another structural beam before they were all rescued and transferred to a local hospital, the lawsuit states.
The family is seeking more than $1 million in damages, according to the suit.
A September 2024 KSAT Investigates report found that Boerne Fire Department inspectors did not find any fire hazards at Fair Grounds one day before the Aug. 31 bleacher collapse.
KSAT also reached out to the City of Boerne in December 2024 for a copy of the city’s structural engineer report completed after the bleacher collapse.
In response, an attorney representing the city is asking the state Attorney General’s Office for permission to not release the report.
More coverage of this story on KSAT: