Two people who say they were injured when a section of bleachers collapsed at the Kendall County Fair in Boerne in 2024 have settled their lawsuit, according to court records. The plaintiffs, Lindsay Ward and Garret Daley, sued the fair operator along with several companies tied to the construction and assembly of the seating after the Aug. 31, 2024 collapse that killed one person and injured a dozen. A notice of settlement filed in Kendall County district court does not disclose financial terms, and attorneys for the pair declined to discuss the outcome.
Court filings identify Ward and Daley as the settling plaintiffs and say both sought compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and other damages related to the collapse. According to the San Antonio Express-News, the settlement notice lists no dollar amount, and a representative for the plaintiffs declined to comment on the specifics. The agreement covers only their two claims and does not resolve other lawsuits that are still pending over the same incident.
What Happened At The Fair
The collapse took place during a rodeo performance on Aug. 31, 2024, when roughly 100 people were on the bleacher structure in the fairgrounds arena. One attendee, 79-year-old Vera Smith, later died from her injuries, and 11 others were treated at area hospitals. City officials say the bleachers were an older salvaged structure and that welding work continued up to the day before the event. Inspectors did not examine the welded connections before the performance, KSAT reported.
Investigation Found Faulty Welds
A structural engineer’s report commissioned by the City of Boerne concluded that the collapse began when an improperly welded ledger-to-post connection failed, which set off a chain reaction that caused adjacent connections to give way and the platform to buckle. The report also notes that required building permits for the bleacher addition were never obtained, so the welded connections were not reviewed in a third-party inspection before the fair. Kendall County District Attorney Nicole Bishop told the San Antonio Express-News her office found "insufficient evidence to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt" and declined to pursue criminal charges at this time.
Legal Fallout
Multiple civil suits followed the collapse, and several plaintiffs consolidated their claims in the 451st District Court. Those filings include a wrongful-death lawsuit from Smith’s family and individual injury claims that seek substantial damages. Court documents obtained by KSAT describe a range of claims, including at least one seeking roughly $1 million for a plaintiff who suffered a broken ankle. Ward and Daley’s settlement resolves their separate suits, but other cases against the Kendall County Fair Association and parties tied to the bleacher construction remain active.
For now, the agreement simply takes two names off the docket while the remaining lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts. Local observers and attorneys say the consolidated cases and any future filings will determine whether more settlements or full trials are ahead.
