Recent Posts in Explosions/Fires Category

A little more than a year after her son was killed in an explosion at a hotel, a mother has filed a lawsuit against both the hotel and a plumbing company.

Michael Walden was killed when the gas broiler at the Mercury Motel in Nashville blew up. Walden was an employee of the hotel and was checking on a gas leak when the broiler exploded.

Walden’s mother, Charlotte McGuire, claims that Holt Plumbing Company is responsible for the explosion that killed her son. In her lawsuit, she says that the plumbing company did a poor job repairing the broiler. An employee for the company allegedly removed a piece from the broiler at the Mercury Hotel in order to repair a broiler in a neighboring hotel, the Drake Motel. The fix didn’t work and the company left without properly reconnecting the gas lines, which caused gas to start leaking. Walden was checking on that leak when the broiler exploded.

In addition to Holt Plumbing Company, McGuire has also filed a lawsuit against the Drake Motel and Piedmont Natural Gas. She claims the utility company failed to respond to reports of a gas leak quickly enough.

In total, McGuire is seeking $15 million in damages.

A class action lawsuit may soon be filed in connection with a January 25 Cleveland home explosion that damaged 57 buildings nearby.

A lawsuit was filed against Dominion East Ohio Gas Co. and EZ Access Funding, an investment company based in California. The lawsuit is blaming the two companies for a gas leak that resulted in a home explosion.

According to the lawsuit, EZ Access ignored its responsibility to maintain the home, which has been vacant since last summer. The lawsuit also alleges that Dominion failed to ensure the gas was shut off after residents complained they could smell a natural gas odor four days before the explosion.  

Gerald Walton, the attorney representing EZ Access, said his client is not to blame for the explosion. He said his client was completely unaware that utilities were being supplied to the home and that they never authorized the gas or any other utilities to be turned on.

Attorney Scott Kalish is representing the owners of three of the homes that were damaged, as well as a dozen other people who rent properties in the area. He believes there could be up to 60 additional property owners and 80 additional renters affected by the explosion. He also says that four people suffered minor injuries in the blast.

Kalish is hoping to classify the lawsuit as class action.