Two people injured in Boerne bleacher collapse settle lawsuit
May 12-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 against the fair's operator and several other defendants, according to court records.
Following the bleacher collapse - which killed one person and injured 11 - Kendall County residents Lindsay Ward and Garret Daley filed suit against the Kendall County Fair Association, fair association president Shane Boerner and several private companies that are alleged to have worked on the bleacher. Some of those companies are owned or operated by Boerner, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit accused the fair association, Boerner and the private companies of negligence, saying they failed to make sure the bleachers were properly and safely constructed.
Ward and Daley's lawsuit says that they were "enjoying the rodeo when suddenly and without warning the Skybox as well as the bleachers collapsed. As a result of the collapse, both were trapped under metal from the bleachers" and were "seriously injured."
Their suit asked for compensation for medical expenses and lost wages, as well as punitive damages.
The notice of settlement does not provide any details about the terms of the settlement agreement. A representative for Ward and Daley declined to comment.
Why the bleachers fell
About 100 people were on a section of bleachers in the Kendall County Fairgrounds' rodeo arena when it gave way on Aug.31, 2024.
Vera Smith, a 79-year-old Kendall County resident, died several days later from her injuries and 11 other people were injured, officials said.
A structural engineer's report commissioned by the city of Boerne found that an improperly welded support beam led to the bleacher collapse. City officials, the Boerne Police Department and the Kendall County district attorney's office were all involved in investigating the incident.
The bleachers that collapsed were built without proper city permits and were not inspected by the Boerne Fire Marshal's Office before the event, city officials said.
The bleachers "were an old structure that was salvaged, and the new structure was made to house eight VIP sections, the bar and a common walkway. Additionally, welding work on the bleacher structure was still occurring up to the day before the event," the city said.
Had the fair association filed for the required city permits, a third-party inspector would have checked the welds on the bleachers, city spokesperson Chris Shadrock said.
Kendall County District Attorney Nicole Bishop said there wasn't enough evidence to seek criminal charges in the collapse, and she declined to bring the investigation before a grand jury. Bishop said her office had been looking at a possible charge of criminally negligent homicide.
Several other plaintiffs still have active suits against the fair association and Boerner, including family members of Vera Smith, the person who died after the collapse.
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This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 7:03 PM.