Exelon, Nursing Home Operator Sued Over Fatal Explosion
The complaint was filed by four plaintiffs who were injured during the Dec. 23 explosion at the Bristol Health and Rehab Center that killed four and injured 20.
PECO Energy Co., its parent company Exelon Corp. and multiple healthcare entities were hit with a lawsuit on Monday alleging they knew about gas leaks that led to a fatal nursing home explosion in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, that killed two and injured over a dozen more, but failed to act in time.
The complaint, filed in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas by four plaintiffs who were injured during the Dec. 23 explosion at the Bristol Health and Rehab Center, sought unspecified damages for multiple counts of negligence and loss of consortium against PECO, Exelon, Bristol, Saber Healthcare Holdings LLC and Saber Healthcare Group.
“Plaintiffs’ catastrophic and life-altering injuries were caused solely by the negligent, reckless and outrageous conduct of defendants, who, before the Dec. 23rd explosion, were aware of a gas leak in the building and failed to take the steps necessary to evacuate the building, fix the leak and protect the residents, workers and others that were exposed to the horrific blast,” the complaint said.
The plaintiffs — former resident Barbara Sall, facility aides Stacy Ballard and Davidetta Blay, and independent telecommunications contractor James Broderick — claimed that the defendants knew that a gas leak in the facility had been “festering for days,” as the odor it caused drew complaints from residents and staff.
PECO dispatched workers to the facility on Dec. 23, but the defendants failed to evacuate the building before the explosion occurred, the complaint said. Media reports estimate that, in addition to the two who died as a result of the incident, at least 20 people were hurt.
“This explosion, and the loss of life and horrific injuries that accompanied it, were the tragic results of defendants’ failure to timely respond to the gas leak, appropriately treat the leak and evacuate the building in response to the leak,” the complaint said.
The complaint alleged that all the plaintiffs were “catastrophically injured” as a result of the explosion. The incident is currently being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.
“At this time, we are cooperating with the ongoing investigation at Bristol, and we do not comment on pending litigation,” a spokesperson for Saber told Law360 in an email Monday.
Exelon similarly mentioned its cooperation with the authorities in a Monday email to Law360.
“We are a party to the National Transportation Safety Board investigation. We are fully cooperating with the NTSB and, according to the NTSB rules, we are not permitted to comment on this matter,” the Exelon spokesperson said.
An attorney for the plaintiffs, Robert J. Mongeluzzi of Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky PC, pointed the finger at PECO.
“There have been multiple gas explosions that have killed and injured people at PECO installations over the past decade, and it seems pretty clear that they knew about this gas leak and again failed to properly handle its repair and shut the gas off before the explosion,” Mongeluzzi told Law360 on Monday. “Our utility bills keep going up and their service and safety record keeps diminishing and, ultimately, it’s the people, the general public, that has paid the price for this.”
The plaintiffs are represented by Robert J. Mongeluzzi, Larry Bendesky, Andrew R. Duffy, E. Douglas DiSandro Jr. and Aidan Carickhoff of Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky PC.
Counsel information for the defendants was not immediately available Monday.
The case is Ballard et al. v. PECO et al., case number not immediately available, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.