Dallas fire victim files $1 billion lawsuit against gas distributor Atmos
A man who was injured in The Clyde apartments gas explosion in Dallas has filed a lawsuit seeking $1 billion against Atmos Energy, claiming the company is grossly negligent.
On May 28, a gas explosion killed three residents of The Clyde apartments, in the Oak Cliff area at the intersection of Patton Avenue and East 9th Street.
According to previous Star-Telegram reporting, the explosion happened when a construction worker hit a gas line near the complex. At the time both the City of Dallas and Atmos Energy officials said that the employee responsible did not work for them.
The lawsuit was filed by attorneys on behalf of Eric Peters and “seeks compensatory damages for his injuries, exemplary damages to punish Atmos Energy and deter it from future wrongdoing, and permanent injunctive relief to stop Atmos Energy from subjecting the public to unnecessary and unacceptable risk of preventable explosions and fires.”
It also says Peters is seeking a restraining order against Atmos Energy to keep the company from destroying any evidence of wrongdoing.
Peters said in the lawsuit that he was sitting in his apartment on the second floor when the explosion happened and the next thing he remembers was lying in the debris on the first floor below where his apartment had been.
The lawsuit says that Atmos Energy marked its gas pipeline in the wrong location and negligently operated knowing that there were gas leaks in the area.
According to the lawsuit, Atmos uses orange polyethylene pipe that is no longer the industry standard and is more “susceptible to failure resulting in dangerous leaks.” The lawsuit states that over 20 years ago, the Texas Railroad Commission said all orange pipes needed to be “removed and replaced.”
When the explosion happened at The Clyde apartments, Dallas Fire-Rescue was already on its way to investigate reports of a gas leak.
