Hotel employees sue Atmos, Sandman Signature and Musume restaurant over Fort Worth explosion

A group of eight employees and two family members are suing the owners of the Sandman Signature hotel along with gas utility company Atmos Energy over an explosion that rocked downtown Fort Worth.

The group claims gross negligence was responsible for the explosion that injured 21 people on Jan. 8. They are looking for redress of their trauma and to get questions answered about what happened, said Matt Greenberg, an attorney with Houston-based Zehl & Associates representing the group.

Some of the plaintiffs have alleged they smelled gas for at least an 90 minutes before the explosion, he said.

This is at least the fourth case filed in Dallas County over the Jan. 8 explosion. A Dallas County court granted a temporary injunction to restaurant worker José Mira, 49, to allow his attorneys to investigate the wreckage.

Mira alleged in his lawsuit he reported a strong smell of gas to hotel management before the explosion.

Atmos Energy said in a statement Friday its internal investigation found no evidence its system was responsible for the explosion. The Fort Worth fire department followed with a statement noting representatives of the National Transportation Safety Board were on hand to supervise Atmos’ investigation.

However, Greenberg said Atmos should make its investigation public to give more transparency into the potential cause of the explosion.

Representatives for Atmos did not directly answer questions from the Star-Telegram asking if the company would release its findings. Instead, the representative reiterated the findings of its own investigation noting it was done in partnership with Fort Worth’s police and fire departments along with the state Railroad Commission.

When you stay in a hotel, you have a reasonable expectation it won’t explode, Greenberg said.

His firm has handled several explosion cases, but what makes the Fort Worth case unique is that it was at a hotel. Other cases are usually at refineries or gas well sites, but a hotel is a place where people congregate, Greenberg said, adding that it’s fortunate more people weren’t hurt.

Several of his clients face mounting medical bills and mental trauma and are seeking monetary compensation of at least a $1 million.

This story was originally published January 17, 2024 at 2:52 PM.

Harrison Mantas

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

817-390-7040

Harrison Mantas has covered Fort Worth city government, agencies and people since September 2021. He likes to live tweet city hall meetings, and help his fellow Fort Worthians figure out what’s going on.