$900,000 Ceiling Collapse Settlement in the Bronx

Years of water damage rotted the ceiling joists above a Bronx bathroom — until the day the entire ceiling came down on the tenant standing beneath it.

Bathroom Ceiling Collapse in a Bronx Apartment

Our client had complained to their landlord about water stains and bubbling paint on the bathroom ceiling for over a year. Each time, management sent a handyman to patch the surface without ever investigating the source of the moisture above. On the morning of the collapse, our client was in the bathroom when the entire ceiling section gave way — dropping plaster, lath, insulation, and water-soaked debris directly onto their head and shoulders.

The impact drove our client to the floor, causing a concussion, cervical disc herniation, and a torn rotator cuff. Emergency responders found them partially buried under the debris.

A Landlord Who Ignored a Year of Warnings in the Bronx

Building inspection records and our client's own documented complaints established a clear timeline of landlord negligence. Our attorneys obtained the building's maintenance logs, which confirmed that the patching work was purely cosmetic — no plumber was ever called, no structural assessment was ever performed, and the water source (a leaking pipe in the upstairs apartment) was never repaired.

We retained a structural engineer who examined the collapsed section and confirmed that the wood lath and joists had deteriorated to the point of failure from prolonged water exposure — damage that would have been visible to any competent inspector.

"A landlord who paints over water damage instead of fixing it is just waiting for a ceiling to come down on someone. Our client warned them for over a year. The $900,000 settlement is what happens when a property owner gambles with tenant safety and loses." — Andrew Levine, Founding Partner

$900,000 Recovery for a Bronx Ceiling Collapse

This settlement compensates our client for emergency treatment, concussion recovery, cervical spine treatment, shoulder surgery, and the psychological trauma of being buried under a collapsing ceiling in their own home. It holds the landlord accountable for years of willful neglect.

If a ceiling collapse, water damage, or structural failure in your apartment caused injuries, our ceiling collapse attorneys have recovered millions from negligent landlords across the Bronx, and are ready to review your claim.