KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
—
Attorneys representing Tammy Martin, a woman injured in the July 2025 collapse of a Midtown Family Dollar, added two new defendants to their personal injury lawsuit.
Dollar Tree Inc. and Family Dollar Operations Inc. have been added to the long list of defendants, which includes the Arthur Fels Company, Family Dollar Stores of Missouri LLC and Family Dollar Inc.
Court documents state that all defendant companies controlled the store and were responsible for keeping customers safe.
Additionally, the company's knowledge and inaction following multiple warnings about the building's structural integrity resulted in harm to Martin, per court documents.
KSHB 41 News reporter Ryan Gamboa has exclusively told Martin's story over the past six months.
She was riding her bike to the Family Dollar on Broadway Boulevard to get cat food the day of the collapse.
Martin told Gamboa she remembers waking up in a hospital.
"I don’t move as fast, I don’t run no more," Martin said during an interview in December. "I don’t get in a hurry for anything... I'm learning to be dependent on people, and I don't like that."
Martin suffered serious injuries as a result of the collapse — a crushed pelvis with a rod running from hip to hip, a broken collar bone, multiple fractures in her right arm, and two amputated fingers.
In a December interview, Martin explained she's received medical treatment for her eyesight, which is believed to have been damaged as a result of the incident.
"This is not something I signed up for," she said. "Not willingly."
One man died in the building collapse. Kansas City, Missouri, police identified the victim as Larry Banks.
In January, Vicki Banks, Larry's wife, filed a new petition for aggravated circumstances damages against the Arthur Fels Company, Family Dollar Stores of Missouri LLC and Family Dollar Inc.
These are punitive-type damages part of Missouri's wrongful death law, but they are not a separate claim. The petition would be an amendment to the original wrongful death lawsuit.
Banks' widow claims the defendants may have acted with "deliberate and flagrant disregard" for safety.
The amendment claims there was strong evidence of repeated warnings and conscious inaction, including multiple roof and structural inspection reports documenting serious hazards and concerns, internal communications labeling the condition of the building as "critical" days before the collapse, and witness testimony answers showing the defendants were aware of the danger and were on a "wait and see" approach with the building.
Granting this motion for leave would allow a jury to consider a damages category authorized by state law, claiming denial would waste court resources and delay justice for the victims.
Currently, Dollar Tree Inc. and Family Dollar Operations Inc. have not been named in the Banks family's lawsuits.
Martin believes the whole situation could have been avoided.
"The negligence on the whole mess. It could’ve been avoided," Martin told Gamboa in October. "I want business owners to take accountability for the customers, not just the profits they’re making. More of the customers that they’re serving and look at us as people, not a dollar."
Martin is suing for compensatory damages in excess of $25,000 for past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, permanent disability, lost wages and a loss of earning capacity. Additionally, she is searching for interest, court costs, and other relief the court finds proper through a jury trial.
A case management conference is scheduled for March 30 in Jackson County Court.
SWL Injury Law attorney James Stigall issued a statement to KSHB 41 regarding his client, Martin:
"Our continued investigation has uncovered additional parties that knew the store was at risk of collapsing and failed to make the necessary repairs, close the store, or warn the public. Instead, Defendants made the longstanding, deliberate decision to put profits over people and expose the public, including Ms. Martin, to a collapse they knew was coming despite multiple warnings."
KSHB 41 reached out to the attorneys representing the defendants but has not heard back. This story will be updated if a response is received.
—
