Restraining order preventing cleanup extended as 28 people sue after Fort Worth explosion
At least eight lawsuits from people who say they were injured or affected by the explosion at the Sandman Signature Hotel in downtown Fort Worth have been filed, asking for damages of more than $270 million in total. So far, attorneys have filed lawsuits on the behalf of at least 28 plaintiffs, including employees, guests, bystanders and family members.
The gas-related explosion injured 21 people, with at least one in critical condition and four in serious condition, on Jan. 8, according to the fire department.
The blast sent a shockwave for blocks around downtown Fort Worth, rattled windows and closed several streets for days. It left people trapped under rubble in the basement of the building, where the explosion is believed to have originated in or near Musume restaurant, and sent several area hospitals into a disaster response mode.
Nobody was killed, though the family of one woman said she is in a medically induced coma as a result of her injuries and may not survive. The woman, restaurant employee Karen Mayte Lopez Ontiveros, is being treated for burns and other injuries at Parkland Hospital in Dallas.
Debris from the explosion that remains inside the building can’t currently be moved or cleaned up because one of the lawsuits led to a restraining order. The temporary retraining order, initially granted for one week, has been extended until Feb. 2, when attorneys for restaurant employee José Mira hope to have an independent investigation into the explosion completed.
In a briefing with the board of directors of Downtown Fort Worth Inc. on Jan. 18, Fire Chief Jim Davis said the court injunction has delayed efforts to remove debris from the basement of the building, hindering access by experts who are part of the officials investigation to determine what went wrong.
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The lawsuits claim companies including the hotel and its owner Northland Properties, gas company Atmos Energy, and Rock Libations, the owner of the Musume restaurant, knew there was a gas leak and that it posed a danger to people in the building but did not warn them or attempt to safely evacuate occupants from the structure.
Several of the lawsuits, including one filed last week by six people named as survivors of the explosion, allege that employees or others told management that they noticed a “smell of gas” but that they were not warned of the risk of explosion or advised or ordered to evacuate the building.
Those six people and others in separate lawsuits are suing for physical injuries, mental health damages, new disabilities, worsened preexisting conditions, disfigurement, medical bills, lost earnings, lost future income and property damage.
That lawsuit also includes two companies citing lost profits, business interruptions and diminished business value.
Another lawsuit names six people who were guests at the hotel and alleges that the explosion was a result of negligence by the hotel owner, property owner, Atmos and other companies who had a responsibility to make sure the gas supply to the building was safe.
In the lawsuit filed by Mira, the temporary restraining order preventing the removal or disturbance of debris was extended by a Dallas County judge on Friday.
Each suit is demanding a jury determine how much is owed, but all of them are requesting at least $1 million.
