Bremond, TX — A man died last Thursday (January 8, 2015) and another was seriously injured after the barn they were working on collapsed in an accident. This was in Bremond, Texas which is about 50 miles southeast of Waco. The man who died was identified as LaCharles Edmond, 29, and the man who was injured was identified as David Smith, 48.
Both men are from Marlin. According to the news reports, both Smith and Edmond (and a third man) were working on demolishing an old barn that afternoon off Highway 6 & Bench Road. As they were working, the structure suddenly collapsed and both Smith and Edmond were crushed under the debris. The third worker, though, wasn’t injured.
LaCharles Edmond was killed by the collapse and David Smith was sent to a hospital with critical injuries. Right now, it’s not clear who the men were working for or what caused the barn to collapse.
Map of the Accident
Commentary:
Demolishing a structure is much more than just swinging a hammer or a wrecking ball, you have to be careful to avoid taking out key load-bearing beams so it doesn’t prematurely collapse on the crew. Now, judging from the pictures in the news, this barn was old and dilapidated. If someone had hired these workers to tear down the barn, were they aware of any dangers? If there was any kind of abnormal hazard or risk in tearing down the barn like that, were the workers warned about it, or sent into a dangerous situation none the wiser?
Of course, this barn could have been owned by one of the men working on it, which would certainly change things. But this is basic premises liability theory: if someone invites you onto their property, they owe you a certain duty to make sure things are reasonably safe. There are different levels of “invitee” that warrant different duties of care, but the general gist of it is that you need to be aware of any glaring dangers that might harm someone. If this old barn had rotted joists and rafters, then the owner should have been aware of it and made sure the workers knew about the potential danger.
— Grossman Law Offices
