Photo by Tom Sofield | Levittown Now.
As an explosion that destroyed a Bucks County nursing home on Dec. 23 continues to be investigated, another lawsuit has been filed against those allegedly responsible for the blast. Its plaintiff alleges that, before the explosion, a gas leak had been “festering for days” at the rehabilitation facility.
The suit, filed Tuesday, Jan. 6, was the third of its kind which names parties including PECO Energy Co., the natural gas provider of the facility, and its parent company Exelon Corp., as well as Saber Healthcare Holdings, LLC of Beachwood, Ohio, and the facility itself, the Bristol Health & Rehab Center LLC, as defendants. The plaintiffs are listed as Yajaira Elizabeth Quille Torres and her husband, Roque Antonio Macas Torres, both of Bensalem. Yajaira was in the explosion when it happened.
The couple is represented by Robert S. Miller and Wapner Newman Attorneys at Law in Philadelphia. Yajaira was similar to a contracted employee, not one of the nursing home facility’s own.
“She was not an employee of the nursing home, but she did work within the facility,” said Miller. While her husband was not present, Miller said he is named in the suit as an additional plaintiff as part of a “loss of consortium claim,” meaning the spouse is additionally impacted by the incident.
According to the filed suit, a gas odor had originated from the boiler room of the nursing home. As of Dec. 23, PECO had responded “to a complaint about a potential gas leak on the property” and “sent several of its workers on the property to investigate.” The suit claims a “strong odor began to permeate the building at least 30 minutes before the explosion.”
Within the suit, the plaintiffs claim that "catastrophic and life-altering injuries” were caused “solely by the negligent, reckless, and outrageous conduct” of the defendants. It also states that the parties 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” those exposed to the blast.
Multiple lawsuits claim that the defending parties should have evacuated the premises while investigating the gas leak. Not having done so was “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.”
Yajaira personally sustained damages and injuries, according to the suit, that were in “no way, shape, or form caused by any action or inaction” of her own. Miller said that Yajaira continues to recover from injuries.
“I can tell you they are life-altering injuries,” said Miller. “She remains an in-patient.”
Instead, the suit alleges that the defendants are “jointly and severally liable for the injuries and damages.” The suit seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, and delay damages, along with costs of the suit for the defendants’ neglect.
“Neglect could be negligence, failure to use reasonable care, failure to inspect, failure to repair, failure to take action for the safety of, in this case, the workers, neighbors,” and any others impacted, said Miller.
While the explosion remains under investigation, Miller is confident the defendants are at-fault.
“The exact negligence at this point — although reports are still developing — is not definitively determined in all the ways all the defendants may have been responsible,” said Miller. “You don’t want to rule anything out at this point, that’s part of the investigation and the information we’ve yet to receive."
By Tom Sofield | Levittown Now Miller said his firm will represent the client to the fullest extent of the law.
“The allegations are pretty clearly laid out,” he said. “We represent multiple victims of this tragedy, and Wapner Newman proudly has a history of pursuing claims on behalf of people who have suffered catastrophic loss. We take this very seriously; we hold all that contributed to this explosion responsible.”
This suit, as with two others, was filed in the Philadelphia civil courts.
“In Pennsylvania, when a defendant or defendants regularly conduct business in Philadelphia (or any location), it’s permissible to file a lawsuit in that county,” explained Miller, as the incident took place in Bucks County.
An initial, first suit was filed Monday by four injured in the blast filed a lawsuit Monday against the facility itself and the natural gas utility providing its services to the building. The suit claims that “overwhelming negligence” of all parties named was to blame for the incident.
The plaintiffs in that suit include two employees of the rehabilitation center, as well as one resident of the facility and one IT contractor who happened to be in the building. Each was injured in the Dec. 23 explosion. This suit’s defendants include the same parties.
As of Jan. 5, a third person was confirmed dead as a result of the explosion, identified as Patricia Mero, 66. Previously, authorities announced the death of Muthoni Nduthu, 52, a nurse of the facility, and resident, Ann Reddy, had been released.
Ongoing investigations of the explosion are being led by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) along with a multi-agency effort including teams from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, and local fire and police agencies.
According to reports, NTSB Spokesman Peter Knudson said prior to the new year that “investigators detected various levels of natural gas in the soil near the Tower Road facility,” said LevittownNow.com.
“According to NTSB, the probe is currently focusing on the pipeline system, human factors, and operator training, and the general operating environment,” said the report.
The first case filed on Sunday, Jan. 4, includes plaintiff Stacy Ballard, Siobhan Broderick, Davidetta Blay, James Washington, Barbara Sall, and James Broderick.
Additionally, also filed on Jan. 6, a third lawsuit against the same parties included plaintiffs listed as Lytasha Wood, Keisha Sample, Donte Simon, Orlando Alvarado, Dennis Williams, and Ayonna Bouie.
By Tom Sofield | Levittown Now 
