A third lawsuit was filed Wednesday morning in the aftermath of the Sandman Signature Hotel Fort Worth explosion. The victims claim their safety was ignored.
The first lawsuit was filed by a man who claims he was injured while running from the blast. He is suing the hotel and natural gas company Atmos Energy, accusing them of negligence after the Sandman Hotel’s explosion.
On Tuesday, the lawyer of Jose Mira, an employee of the hotel, also filed a lawsuit against the hotel and Atmos Energy.
In the latest filing by the Houston-based firm Zehl & Associates, a total of eight employees and two spouses of the injured employees are listed.
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The suit claims that the negligence of the listed defendants: Atmos Energy Corp., Sandman Management (Nevada) Inc., Northland Developments Inc., and Rock Libations LP, led to the explosion on January 8.
"They're scared about their future. They're scared about what happened," attorney Ryan Zehl said with Zehl & Associates said.
"Employees and guests both smelled a distinct odor of gas in the hotel for hours before the explosion. It was reported to management, hotel management, and nothing was ever done. Nobody was evacuated. Doors weren't closed off. Alarms weren't sounded. Business went on as usual. And then we had this catastrophe."
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According to the lawsuit, plaintiffs Manuela Marin, Yeimy Marin, Ericka Beatriz Sanchez Del Cid, Candi Ruby Marmolejo, Laura Serrano Reséndiz, Flor Hilda Serrano Reséndiz, Sandra Guijosa Mandujano, and Cinthia Lara Rangel suffered serious injuries in the explosion.
"The employees thought that they were walking into work, an ordinary day of work, and they ended up walking into what was tantamount to a war zone," Zehl said. “A lot of them have concussion syndrome. So, some form of mild traumatic brain injury. And that's just from being thrown right, hitting their heads. They don't remember exactly what happened from the time of the explosion to the time that they were transported away from the hotel. They have neck pain. They have tingling in their arms and their legs."
Two spouses of the injured employees have also filed a loss of consortium claims.
"They don't know when they will get their next paycheck or if it's going to come," Zehl said. "They're kind of left on their own and abandoned trying to get the best care that they can, and take care of their families financially like they were before."
The suit filed by the Houston-based firm comes despite the fact there is still no clear sign of what sparked the blast.
In a statement issued Friday, Atmos said their investigation found no fault with their equipment.
"Until I see evidence that actually proves what they're saying, we can't rely on it. We have our own experts," Zehl said. "We have a cause and origin expert who's going to go back to the hotel and examine the evidence and determine for himself what the source of the ignition was."
According to the Fort Worth Fire Department, all cleanup has been delayed due to the lawsuits and said the investigation could take months as they sift through debris and talk with those involved.
