Atmos Energy sued in ‘gruesome’ wrongful death of Dallas apartment resident: lawsuit
Atmos Energy and others were acting with “conscious indifference” when a gas explosion last week at a Dallas apartment complex killed three residents, attorneys for a victim allege in a new lawsuit.
The victim, Sylvia Collins, died a “gruesome” death after a “bomb-like explosion” reduced her apartment complex to something like a war zone, attorney Chris Hamilton wrote in the filing. Collins’ death was so violent that ultimately, all that remained of her was her skeleton, Hamilton told reporters Tuesday.
Atmos Energy and the other defendants are culpable in Collins’ wrongful death and should pay upwards of $1 million in damages to her family, the lawsuit states.
Collins, who served as a Democratic Party precinct chair in the Dallas area, was “an absolute gem of a person” who was selfless and completely focused on what she could do for others, Hamilton said. Collins and Hamilton were friends and knew each other for decades.
In addition to Atmos Energy, the suit also names as defendants the drilling company performing geological testing at the site, the current property manager of The Clyde apartment building, and the apartment building’s intended purchaser.
Residents had been reporting the smell of natural gas inside The Clyde apartments for days prior to the explosion, attorneys wrote in the lawsuit. Further, attorneys for Collins’ family allege Atmos Energy has an unusually long history of gas leaks and third-party line strikes, as well as poorly-maintained gas infrastructure.
One of the suit’s big questions, Hamilton said, is about how gas lines were marked at the property prior to the start of work.
“It is somewhat hard to believe that a correctly marked line could result in this happening,” Hamilton said.
If the lines were marked properly and a driller struck them anyway, “that involves so much incompetence that everybody associated with that driller and allowing him to be onsite without supervision has serious responsibility,” Hamilton said.
Another question at the center of the lawsuit has to do with the physics of such an explosion, Hamilton explained.
“Where did all that gas come from?” Hamilton said. “How can this actually occur inside a building like this? There’s been reference to drilling activities outside, but the volume of gas involved with this type of explosion very likely involves other sources of gas that were pre-existing.”
Atmos Energy denied initial responsibility for damage to the gas line shortly after the explosion on Thursday, saying in part that “a construction company completely unrelated” to Atmos damaged the line.
“We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred yesterday in Oak Cliff,” Atmos officials said in a statement Friday. “Our hearts go out to the people who were tragically lost, their families, and everyone who has been impacted.”
The complex’s owner said through an attorney that the property is under contract for sale, and that the buyer’s engineering firm was conducting soil testing at the site before the explosion, according to Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV. The attorney for the complex’s owner said the owner was “shocked by this outcome and likewise mourns this outcome.”
The engineering firm, Carrollton-based ECS Southwest, called the explosion a “terrible tragedy” and said its personnel were not on scene at the time of the explosion, WFAA reported. The firm also said the 811 hotline reported that utility location had been performed prior to the start of work at the complex. “Beyond that, the cause is under investigation, and we don’t think it would be appropriate to speculate while that work is ongoing,” the company’s statement reads.
The lawsuit is the second filed by victims of the explosion: Last week, complex resident Onecimo Ponce Mendoza also sued Atmos Energy, alleging that the company’s negligence contributed to the explosion and to his ensuing injuries.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the explosion.
