Another lawsuit has been filed against Atmos Energy, claiming the company was responsible for a home explosion that occurred last weekend.
Carrollton Texas Fire Rescue reported that the North Texas Emergency Communications Center had dispatched emergency units to a home located at the 1800 block of Highland Drive at about 3:44 a.m. on January 20 after receiving reports of an explosion. Upon arrival, crews took note of the apparent explosion, revealing a photo of the home’s windows that had been blasted out.
Atmos crews were onsite to assess the situation, and emergency crews evacuated nearby homes out of caution.
“Small amounts of fire were located and quickly extinguished. One patient was found and transported to a local hospital in stable condition. No other injuries were reported,” Carrollton Texas Fire Rescue said in a social media post.
Carrollton’s fire chief confirmed that the explosion had been caused by gas leaking into a sewage line, according to CBS News Texas.
Kherkher Garcia LLP has since filed a lawsuit against Atmos Energy on behalf of the burned victim and his family, alleging negligence on the part of the company that led to the explosion. Jesus Garcia, an attorney for the law firm, said that the injured person, later identified as Sergio Valdez, was in the restroom the night the explosion occurred, leaving him with burns across his arms and face.
Valdez’s wife and four children were also home at the time of the blast. However, they were not injured.
“You wake up in the middle of the night and you see your husband or your father screaming in agony,” said Garcia, per CBS News Texas. “You don’t know what happened. They are suffering right now.”
Garcia explained the suit allows the firm to investigate the events behind the explosion.
“They are the ones that get paid when we obtain the gas from them,” said Garcia. “They also have a duty to make sure that we are safe in our homes and our schools and our hospitals and hotels that we visit.”
Officials are still investigating the explosion.
This lawsuit is the most recent in several cases seeking damages from Atmos and the second to be filed by Kherkher Garcia against the company. A Tarrant County man is suing the utility company and the managers and owners of the Sandman Signature Fort Worth hotel for damages after an explosion injured 21 people earlier this month, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.