A Harris County jury awarded $108,367.92 to a Houston mother and her two daughters who were injured when the ceiling of the home they were renting collapsed onto the bed they were lying in. The jury award is more than ten times the $10,000 settlement offer the property owner offered before trial. The pre-settlement offer was less than a quarter of the family’s medical bills.
Case facts
- Matter
- Residential Premises
- Venue
- Harris County, Texas
- Resolution
- Jury Verdict
- Amount
- $108,367.92
- Resolved
- 19 March 2026
Background
The family rented a home owned by a local landlord, who evidence at trial showed held a portfolio of fourteen rental properties. The air-conditioning unit serving the home included a condenser unit that sat in the attic, directly above the bedrooms.
That unit leaked. Based on the condition of the materials above the ceiling, it had been leaking for a long time — long enough to saturate the insulation, the drywall and the sheetrock in the ceiling below, and long enough that the damage would have been apparent to anyone inspecting the property. No maintenance was performed.
One morning, with the mother and both daughters in bed, the waterlogged ceiling gave way and fell on them.
The injuries
All three were hurt. The injuries included cervical and lumbar disc herniations, lasting physical impairment, and the mental anguish that follows being injured in your sleep in your own bed in a home you had no reason to believe was unsafe. Their medical bills came to roughly $40,000 between them.
The offer, and the trial
Before trial, the defendant offered $10,000 to settle all three claims. That figure was less than a quarter of the family’s medical bills alone, before any consideration of impairment or mental anguish.
The family declined it and tried the case in the 190th District Court of Harris County. The jury returned $108,367.92 — more than ten times what had been offered, and more than two and a half times the medical bills. The judgment also awarded pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, as well as court costs. After paying for medical bills, attorneys fees (40%), and litigation expenses, the family received over $65,000.00. Every case result is different.
“Injuries like these happen when landlords put profits over people. The defendant here did not want to pay for maintenance or repairs, and our clients paid the price. Twelve Harris County Jurors saw the evidence and delivered justice for the family.”
– Andrew K. Gardner, A. K. Gardner Law, PLLC
What it means for tenants
Texas landlords have obligations to keep rental property in a safe and habitable condition, and those obligations do not end just because a tenant has not complained. Water damage of the kind at issue here develops over months and years, not days, and it is usually visible to a responsible landlord who inspects the property regularly.
If you were injured by a condition your landlord failed to repair, the evidence that proves how long it had been developing — photographs, maintenance records, prior complaints, the damaged materials themselves — does not stay available for long. It is important that you hire a lawyer right away so your counsel can investigate, preserve evidence, and file your claim.
About A. K. Gardner Law, PLLC
A. K. Gardner Law, PLLC is a Houston personal injury firm founded by Andrew K. Gardner, representing people injured in premises liability, car crashes, truck accidents and other matters throughout Texas. The firm handles cases on a contingency fee basis. Media inquiries: contact@akgardner.com or (832) 598-1339.
Every case is different, and the outcome of any case depends on its specific facts and circumstances. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future case.
Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict future outcomes. Every case is different and results depend on the specific facts and law involved.