Ten days after post-tropcial storm Dorian sent a tower crane crashing into a downtown Halifax building, some businesses in the area are still closed.

Others say they are losing business as customers stay away from the area.

Staff at a downtown Halifax law firm are working out of a 200-square-foot room.

They haven't been able to get into their office since the crane collapsed onto the building near their workplace.

"We finally have a phone, we are operating from a forwarded cellphone at this point, and we are trying to keep in contact with our clients, reassure them that we're here," said Eugene Tan of the Walker Dunlop law firm

Businesses and employees say they area hurting after the incident.

"It's been very significant," said Chris Reynolds of Stillwell Beer Garden. "There's been lots and lots of dollars lost at this point to the business, but also to our employees who need to pay rent and buy groceries."

Some have received support from their own insurance, but have questions about who is on the hook for their losses.

"I think a lot of businesses and a lot of residents in the area are going to be looking for some compensation from whoever is responsible," said Reynolds.

City councillor Waye Mason says he is trying to find answers for residents and business owners, but it's been challenging.

"There's been poor communication, in part because, in a disaster, everybody is just trying to do what they can, as fast as they can," Mason said. "The crane operator or their insurance company should be doing communication, that hasn't been happening. There's a lot of people who could potentially be on the hook. I think first and foremost a lot of people are going to be looking to the actual operator of the crane. We don't know what agreements they have with the developer."

And for the businesses that are still open, they say it's hardly business as usual, as people avoid the area.

"We're not even getting a quarter of our daily sales that we were getting before, so that impacts our staff a lot," said Sabrina O'Neill, the manager of Humani-T Café. "We had to cut down all of our shifts."

With files from CTV Atlantic's Amy Stoodley.