A resident of the Dallas apartment complex damaged by Sunday's crane collapse filed a lawsuit Tuesday.
The plaintiff is Macy Chiasson, a mixed martial arts fighter, who was injured as she escaped from the damaged building with her dog.
"She's a tough woman. She ran out barefoot," her attorney Jason Friedman said.
The attorney said Chiasson's apartment was on the first floor of the building, directly below the units that were severed as the crane crashed through the structure. She was forbidden from returning to recover anything.
Chiasson is a native of New Orleans and a Hurricane Katrina survivor who had cherished family items in her apartment.
Friedman said her losses are much greater than the $500 offered by the landlord.
"I was with her today," Friedman said. "She was in the same clothes as when she escaped. She has nothing. She doesn't even have a license."
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Defendants in the lawsuit did not have time to review it by the close of business Tuesday and could not be reached.
The crane company, Bigge Crane and Rigging, said earlier that it was cooperating with investigators and has a good safety record.
Kiersten Symone Smith, 29, died in the accident. The employee of Tenet Healthcare in North Texas was originally from Houston. Her sister posted a tribute on Facebook which said Kiersten was a happy person with a boyfriend she loved.
Houston Attorney Jonathan Cox said Tuesday that he was representing the Smith family. Cox said they declined interviews at this time and requested privacy.
Jay Bosquez is among the injured tenants recovering in the hospital.
His attorney Todd Clement said the victim's wife was just returning from a shopping trip when she noticed the collapsed crane.
"As she looks over, she sees the crane and goes, 'Oh my God, that crane is in our bedroom.'"
Bosquez is a U.S. Marine who served more than 15 years in active duty. Clement said Bozquez's wife is thankful Bosquez is alive.
"He was uniquely capable of dealing with this incredibly stressful situation and he is just so very, very appreciative of the first responders that helped him," Clement said.
Clement and Friedman both said they believed negligence was to blame for the accident.
Friedman said cranes are typically able to withstand storms like the one that blew through downtown Dallas by releasing the arm so it can move with the wind like a weather vane.
"Look around the area. There are other cranes that survived this wind," Friedman said.
Of the three attorneys speaking Tuesday, only Friedman had filed a lawsuit.
The landlord has announced that the building with more than 500 units is no longer livable.
