The suit names PECO Energy Company, its parent Exelon Corp., and Saber Healthcare Holdings LLC as defendants, alleging they were aware the gas odor had been ‘festering for days’ before the blast and that their failure to initiate evacuation procedures was ‘reckless and outrageous’ given the limited mobility of nursing home residents.
Four people hurt when a natural gas explosion killed two at a suburban Philadelphia nursing home filed a negligence lawsuit Monday in Philadelphia court, claiming the facility operator and a gas utility knew of a gas leak days before the Dec. 23 blast and failed to evacuate residents and workers.
The plaintiffs — two Bristol Health & Rehab Center LLC employees, one resident of the facility, and a contractor who was present when the explosion occurred — are suing PECO Energy Company, its parent company Exelon Corp., and Saber Healthcare Holdings LLC of Beachwood, Ohio.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants “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 suit claims the gas leak “had been festering for days” and that the gas odor originated in the boiler room. It characterized the failure to initiate evacuation as “reckless and outrageous given the population within the building, with many of the residents having limited mobility and unable to self-evacuate in the case of an emergency.”
Zach Shamberg, Saber Healthcare Group’s chief of government affairs, said in an email Monday that the company is cooperating with the ongoing investigation and does not comment on litigation.
Greg Smore, PECO’s communications director, said in an email that as a party to a National Transportation Safety Board investigation, the company was not permitted to comment. PECO has previously said the cause of the explosion is under investigation and that it is not known whether the company’s equipment or natural gas were involved.
The Dec. 23 explosion killed two people and injured 20 others. A PECO crew had been on the scene responding to a reported gas odor when the blast occurred, authorities said.
One of those killed was Muthoni Nduthu, 52, a Kenyan immigrant who worked at the facility. The other victim was a resident whose name has not been made public.
The force of the explosion shook houses for blocks in Bristol, about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia. About 100 residents were evacuated to other nursing homes nearby, officials said. Authorities reported acts of heroism in response to the blast.
Officials have not said what caused the explosion. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.