New lawsuit filed on behalf of victims in Bucks County deadly nursing home explosion

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A lawsuit seeks damages on behalf of two victims injured in a nursing home explosion in Bristol Township in December that left three people dead.

Plaintiffs include Joseph Juhas Sr. and MaryAnn Schnepp, both of whom were residents at Bristol Health & Rehab Center where authorities say approximately 20 people were injured in the incident.

Filed Wednesday in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, the lawsuit claims that Juhas and Schnepp suffered “serious and permanent injuries” from the explosion, including intracranial bleeding, traumatic brain injuries and multiple fractures. Their spouses are also included among the plaintiffs.

The group is suing Saber Healthcare Group, the operator of the nursing home, as well as PECO and its parent company, Exelon Energy. The previous operator of the center is also named as a defendant in the suit.

The explosion and the resulting injuries “should never have happened,” said Brian Fritz, lead attorney for the case.

“The present owners failed to take their responsibility seriously in addressing … a very evident hazardous condition, as well as the utility company that came and has a hazardous response plan that was obviously not followed,” he told WHYY News. “To the point that both the managers of the nursing home as well as the utility company failed to stop activity taking place. They failed to turn off the gas and failed to evacuate the facility.”

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants “recklessly and with callous disregard continued to supply cigarettes and lighters to the residents during the scheduled smoking sessions throughout the day,” including at least once “after the smell of gas had been reported to the facility.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the cause of the explosion and expects to release a preliminary report in the coming weeks.

Fritz said he and his legal team are awaiting NTSB’s findings and are also conducting their own investigation into the explosion.

Zach Shamberg, chief of government affairs at Saber Healthcare Group, said in a statement Thursday that the company “cannot comment on pending litigation” and is currently cooperating with the ongoing NTSB investigation.

In a statement, a PECO spokesperson said the company is “a party to the National Transportation Safety Board investigation” and is “fully cooperating with the NTSB.” They added they are not permitted to comment on the matter, per NTSB rules.

PECO crews were onsite responding to reports of a gas odor at the time of the explosion.

A lawsuit filed earlier this week alleges that despite reports of natural gas odors at least a half hour before the explosion, PECO and the company that operates Bristol Health and Rehab failed to evacuate residents, staff members and visitors.