Four people injured in an explosion at a Pennsylvania nursing home two weeks earlier filed a negligence lawsuit in Philadelphia on Monday, naming the facility and a natural gas utility, according to court claims summarized by the Associated Press.
The plaintiffs include two workers and a resident and a contractor who happened to be at Bristol Health & Rehab Center LLC when the blast occurred on Dec. 23, the AP reported. The lawsuit names Bristol Health & Rehab Center LLC and also names PECO Energy Company, Exelon Corp., and Saber Healthcare Holdings LLC of Beachwood, Ohio.
In the suit, the plaintiffs claim 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 AP reported, citing the complaint’s language.
Zach Shamberg, chief of government affairs for Saber Healthcare Group, said in an email Monday that the company is cooperating with the ongoing investigation and does not comment on litigation, according to the AP. PECO communications director Greg Smore said in an email that PECO was not permitted to comment because it is a party to an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, the AP reported.
The utility has previously said the cause was under investigation and that it was not known whether PECO’s equipment or natural gas were involved, the AP said. The explosion killed a resident and a worker and injured 20 other people, and officials have not said what caused the blast, the AP reported. The AP said a PECO crew had been there to investigate a reported gas leak.
The lawsuit alleges the gas leak “had been festering for days” and that the gas odor came from the boiler room, the AP reported. It also alleges that “Defendants’ decision not to immediately initiate evacuation procedures under these circumstances was reckless and outrageous,” citing the population in the building, including residents with limited mobility who the complaint said were unable to self-evacuate.
Authorities have said a utility crew was responding to reports of a gas odor when the explosion happened. After the blast, officials reported acts of heroism and said about 100 residents were taken to other nursing homes nearby, according to the AP.
One of the people who died was identified as Muthoni Nduthu, 52, a Kenyan immigrant who worked at the facility, the AP reported. The AP said the other victim was a resident whose name has not been made public. The force of the blast shook nearby houses for blocks in Bristol, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Philadelphia, the AP reported.
The lawsuit adds to the investigation that has left the cause of the Dec. 23 blast unresolved publicly.