Surfside Building Collapse & Florida’s Wrongful Death Laws
On June 24, 2021, we woke up to news of the terrible tragedy unfolding in Surfside, Florida. The Champlain Towers South Condo Building had, for reasons still unknown, collapsed at approximately 1:30 A.M. Rescue operations have been heroic and ongoing since the beginning.
While we still do not know what caused this tragedy, we have heard many reports including that the building was having repairs made to the roof, that the building’s structure had been, since the 1990s, sinking into the ground, that there was structural damage to the building that needed to be repaired and that the building was in the process of its mandatory 40 year recertification process. This process consists of engineers performing inspections of the building, including electrical and structural inspections, to ensure that the building is safe from a structural and electrical standpoint. We have also heard reports that the building, through this recertification process, was aware of structural and electrical changes that were required and they were preparing to commence the work.
Currently, reports are that over 100 individuals are still unaccounted for. Rescue efforts are still ongoing, however, unfortunately, no one has been found alive since a few hours after the collapse. Sadly, as the days continue, we anticipate the death toll will continue to rise as the first responders continue to recover the bodies of more victims.
Collapsing buildings or other structures, fortunately, are quite rare. Though there may well have been more, we can only personally recall three such events in South Florida since our firm began. These include the Federal DEA office building collapse in 1974 which resulted in 7 deaths and 16 injuries; the Miami—Dade College parking garage collapse (under construction at the time) resulting in 4 deaths and 7 injuries, and the FIU pedestrian overpass, resulting in 6 deaths and 10 injuries. Those catastrophes all resulted in complex and intense litigation over who the responsible parties were. In such situations, it is rarely immediately clear where fault lies. And various parties and insurance companies typically point fingers at one another, often for years.
While we still do not know what caused the Champlain Towers South Condo Building to collapse, what we do know is its been reported that in 2018 an Engineering Firm, Morabito Consultants, performed an inspection of the building and submitted a report to the Association. The City of Surfside apparently also received a copy of this report. According to news accounts of the report, “the waterproofing below the Pool Deck & Entrance Drive as well as all of the planter waterproofing is beyond it [sic] useful life and therefore must all be completely removed and replaced. The failed waterproofing is causing major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas. Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially.”
The parking garage levels were also inspected. According to reports, “the Parking Garage revealed signs of distress/fatigue.” The cracking and spalling were observed in “both the topside of the entrance drive ramp and underside of the pool/entrance drive/planter slabs, which included instances with exposed, deteriorating rebar.” Apparently, there were prior repairs made to the garage, however, there was evidence of poor workmanship and according to the report, the repairs were ineffective.
On its face it is rather worrisome that after receiving the 2018 report, nothing was done to make the necessary repairs. The exact reasons for the failure to make the repairs and all the individuals who may have played a part in the decision to not make the repairs is still under investigation. We anticipate that as the investigation continues to unfold, we will learn of several additional individuals and/or companies who may have been involved and bear some responsibility for the collapse which ultimately occurred.
In addition to the 2018 report and its findings, we have also heard reports that there was substantial shaking of the building during the time that the condominium next to the Champlain tower was being built. Residents complained to the City of Surfside about the constant shaking and their concern for their building as a result of the new construction taking place next door. Whether this had an impact on what ultimately caused the building to collapse is still under investigation. If it is ultimately deemed to have played a role in the collapse, we anticipate there will be multiple additional individuals and corporations who may be responsible.
Once the fault is established, then the insurers turn their eyes to assessing the damages, with the most significant claims being settled first. In most of these cases the injuries are rarely minor, and most result in severely debilitating injuries, or death. The law of Florida allows for the following damages for personal injuries for survivors, in the past and for the future of one’s life expectancy:
- Lost earnings and earning capacity
- Medical expenses
- Pain and suffering of the injured person
- Loss of capacity to enjoy life
- Disability or Physical impairment
- Disfigurement
- Mental anguish
In situations like the surfside collapse, most of the casualties are going to be death cases. In Florida, these are called Wrongful Death claims. These claims are defined and described in Florida Statute, Chapter 768. While a bit confusing here is a summary of the types of claims allowed and not allowed under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act:
We first note that that Act does not always make sense or do justice. But, as they say, it is what it is:
To make a wrongful death claim, the person filing the lawsuit must be what is legally defined as a “survivor” to be eligible to make such a claim. Not everyone is a survivor. For example, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters, grandparents are not survivors and only have a claim if they were provably financially dependent on the person who died. Those claims are rare.
Survivors are primarily spouses and children.
Surviving spouses (and this requires an actual licensed marriage) always have claims for their mental pain and suffering for the loss of a loved one. There are more elements to this claim but for simplicity we will just refer to it as a mental pain and suffering claim.
Surviving children fall into three categories:
- Minor children (defined as under 25 years old) always have claims for lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance and for mental pain and suffering and their mental pain and suffering in the loss of their parent(s).
- Adult children (over 25) have claims for lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance and for mental pain and suffering and their mental pain and suffering in all death cases except they don’t in medical malpractice cases, nor do they have a claim if there is a surviving spouse.
- Finally, in medical malpractice cases, children under 25 have claims for lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance and their mental pain and suffering in losing a parent, regardless of the dead parent’s marital status, e.g. single, divorced, widowed. But under no circumstances can a child over the age of 25 make a claim for the death of a parent in a medical malpractice case.
In the Surfside matter, which is not a medical malpractice claim, adult children of unmarried parents can make claims for a lost parent. In some cases where both parents may have perished in the collapse, adult children will be able to make claims. But if one of the two spouses die in the collapse, only the surviving spouse can make a claim.
It’s complicated, not very fair, and often quite arbitrary. But it’s the law in Florida.
In Wrongful Death Claims, funeral bills are claimable, as are medical expenses, and for an eligible survivor, the right to claim lost support and the value of lost household services for the expected duration of those things to continue.
We have already seen some lawsuits filed on behalf of the victims of the condo collapse. We have also heard many different theories regarding the cause of the collapse and who may be responsible for the collapse. Many of these theories are speculative at this early stage of the process. A multitude of experts and government agencies will ultimately weigh in with actual facts. This is typical of catastrophic incidents such as the Champlain Towers South collapse.
Our experience with catastrophic building accidents in Florida includes a significant settlement for an airport worker who sustained a brain injury when the airport garage collapsed, as well as representing a family who lost a loved one in the explosions of a muffler shop in Ft. Lauderdale. Perhaps more importantly, since one of the most important factors in choosing a lawyer in a case like this is overall experience, our team of catastrophic injury attorneys have over 350 jury trials and over 125 years of experience among the six of us. Our reputation for integrity, our longstanding commitment to excellence and client satisfaction, and our standing in the community, respected by judges and opposing counsel, alike, make us fully equipped to take on devastating and challenging cases such as those related to the horrific building collapse in Surfside.
If you are someone thinking of making a claim for such an event, it is important to have a law firm representing you that has experience in dealing with catastrophic injury claims and with complex fact patterns that are typical of collapsing or exploding structures. The Freidin Brown Trial Lawyer team invites you to review our experience with catastrophic injuries and death as well as our record of verdicts and settlements achieved for them over the past 50 years.
