Austin Personal Injury Lawyer Discusses Possible Gas Leak Resulting in Explosion and Death
May 1, 2012
Austin, TX (Law Firm Newswire) April 30, 2012 – A gas leak causing an explosion killed one and injured another in North Austin, Texas. Who is culpable for the gas leak?
“The house involved in this catastrophic explosion was completely demolished, and a neighboring home was shoved off its foundation by two and a half feet. It was horrific for all those involved,” recounted Robert W. Lee, an Austin personal injury attorney of The Lee Law Firm in Austin, Texas.
Apparently, the force of the explosion could be felt up to a quarter-mile away, and several other homes had their windows blown out. What happened that fateful and deadly day? It appears the first calls for assistance were to the Fire Department, who responded to an explosion. When they got there, the house was in chunks, all over the street. It looked like a bomb had been detonated, taking the house out with it. The odor of gas was in the wind.
Fire personnel were not sure if the suspected gas leak was caused by the explosion, or if the blast was the result of the gas leak, but their first concern was to stop gas from leaking underground and showing up somewhere else. Five tanker trucks battled the blaze to a standstill over a period of several hours. At that point, Texas Gas dug a hole to shut off the gas.
“Fire investigators, who spoke to other residents on the block, were told they had smelled gas there for several weeks. In fact, the man who lived in the house that went up in the blast complained to others about the smell. Evidently, there was also a large hole in front of the man’s house, which indicated a local contracting company was attempting to locate the leak,” Lee added.
Various authorities ranging from the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees the gas industry, to Texas Gas Service, indicated they will be examining the incident to see if any pipeline safety rules were violated and revisiting any work that had been done in that area for flaws or errors.
“Meanwhile, the question is how did this happen? Who was the contractor poking about trying to find the leak? Did their excavations cause the explosion? Why wasn’t Texas Gas Service involved? A man is dead because someone was negligent, and he and his family deserve justice. There is more to this story than meets the eye,” Lee suggested, “and someone needs to get to the bottom of it and ensure justice is done.”
To learn more, visit Austin personal injury lawyer and http://www.rwleelaw.com.
The Lee Law Firm
11824 Jollyville Road, Suite 302
Austin, Texas 78759
Phone: 512.478.8080
