The responsibility for the 1981 Hyatt Regency walkway collapse in Kansas City—the deadliest non-intentional structural failure in U.S. history—was primarily placed on the structural engineers from the firm Gillum & Associates. While the steel fabricator (Havens Steel) proposed the fatal design change (switching from a single long support rod to a double-rod system), the engineers of record, Jack D. Gillum and Daniel M. Duncan, were found guilty of "gross negligence" by the Missouri Board of Architects and Professional Engineers for signing off on the revised drawings without performing the necessary safety calculations. The change effectively doubled the load on the fourth-floor beams, making the structure incapable of supporting even its own weight. As a result, both engineers lost their professional licenses in Missouri and several other states, and the firm was shuttered. This tragedy remains a foundational case study in engineering ethics and "the duty of care," highlighting that the engineer of record bears ultimate legal responsibility for the structural integrity of a building, regardless of who suggests a design modification.