Lawsuit claims Bristol Township explosion could’ve been prevented; nursing home, PECO failed to protect people

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A third person has died as a result of injuries sustained in the Dec. 23 explosion at the Bristol Health and Rehab Center in Bucks County, according to the Bristol Township Police Department. Patricia Mero, 66, was admitted to St. Mary Medical Center for blunt force trauma to the chest, but autopsy results are not yet available. The explosion leveled the facility and injured at least 20 people.

A lawsuit filed this week on behalf of four of the injured claims that the company that operates the facility and natural gas supplier PECO failed to evacuate residents, staff and visitors despite a pervasive smell of natural gas occurring at least half an hour before the incident.

PECO’s parent company, Exelon, as well as the Ohio-based Saber Healthcare Holdings, which recently acquired the facility, are also named as defendants in the suit filed this week in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

“Our pre-suit investigation left no doubt that the defendants were responsible for this foreseeable and preventable tragedy just before Christmas,” said attorney Robert Mongeluzzi in a statement. “We will prove that there were failures in staffing, training and supervision, that basic facility life-safety training protocols were blatantly ignored or compromised, …and that  innocent lives – of residents, workers, and visitors including contractors – were callously put at risk.”

Two nurses aides, a resident who is a paraplegic and a contract information technology worker allege negligence on the part of both companies. In addition to failing to initiate an evacuation, the lawsuit says that PECO workers did not properly diagnose or fix the leak.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it wrapped up its on-site investigation Monday and will issue a preliminary report within the next several weeks.

A PECO spokesperson said in an email that the company is “fully cooperating with the NTSB” but is not permitted to comment due to the board’s rules.

In a statement, Saber Healthcare Group spokesman Zach Shamberg said the company will not comment on pending litigation, but added that Saber “continues to work with federal, state and local officials to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff, residents and the larger community.”

“We thank those who have offered their thoughts and prayers for our staff and residents, and we mourn those who we have lost,” Shamberg said.

In addition to Mero, the explosion killed Muthoni Nduthu, a nurse, and Ann Reddy, a resident.