Explosion Injures More Than 20 People and Levels Businesses
In a South Florida story that made national news, more than 20 people were injured in a natural gas explosion as a result of a suspected gas leak that leveled the majority of a mall in Plantation in Broward County. The explosion took place over the Fourth of July weekend and destroyed dozens of nearby businesses, caused so much debris that it blocked nearby roads and made it difficult for first responders to access the scene and even caused air bags in nearby cars to go off. Although the cause of the explosion still has yet to be determined, this is simply another example of what can occur when negligence and simple carelessness allow an incident to occur that injures and/or kills large numbers of people. In many, if not all, cases, such incidents are preventable and could have been avoided in the first place if a party had exercised due care in preventing harm to others.
The Natural Gas Explosion in Plantation
According to a South Florida Sun-Sentinel report, the July 6th explosion took place at the Fountains shopping center in Plantation. Witnesses told police it appeared to have come from the direction of a vacant restaurant inside the shopping center complex, a former pizzeria. Twenty-three people were injured in the explosion, two of them critically, and 19 had to be taken to nearby hospitals for medical treatment for their injuries. The authorities told reporters it occurred as a result of a ruptured gas line. However, the exact cause is still being investigated and, as of a July 15th report, authorities still had not determined a definitive cause for the incident. However, an adjacent shopping center in Plantation also had been declared unsafe after the July 6thcatastrophe.
Authorities told reporters on the day of the explosion that the force from the explosion shot large pieces of concrete as far as 50 yards and sent pieces of metal as far as 100 yards across the street, damaging cars parked at other businesses. The force of the explosion even triggered airbags to go off in some cars in nearby parking lots. Fire Rescue initially had trouble getting close to the blast site because debris blocked access roads. Traffic around the site ended up blocked for hours afterwards as authorities completed their investigation and debris from the explosion had to be cleared from nearby roadways.
Negligence Comes in Many Forms
Negligence can take many forms, shapes and sizes. People most often think of the negligence of a driver that causes a motor vehicle accident resulting in someone else’s car being totaled or an innocent victim suffering whiplash or some other injuries. Sometimes the negligence in question can be something like failing to maintain or failing to properly inspect the gas lines that appear to have exploded in the Fountains shopping center recently. The potential negligence in this scenario may have been the failure of the mall’s owner and operator or the local utility to take the appropriate steps to maintain the pipes that supplied the mall with natural gas that ultimately caused a gas leak and the resultant July 6thexplosion. If it turns out that the local utility or the mall’s owner or operator was negligent in some way and that this led to the gas explosion, then persons who were injured or suffered property damage in this gas explosion would have legal recourse under Florida law in order to obtain compensation for their injuries and/or property damage from whomever the responsible party is determined to be.
Contact Schwed, Adams & McGinley if You Have Been the Victim of Someone Else’s Negligence
While negligence can take many forms, what all negligence has in common is that it can cause people to suffer serious injuries and sometimes even death. Whether it’s a failure to properly maintain equipment like natural gas pipes, failing to properly conduct regular inspections of those same pipelines or ignoring warning sensors of an impending disaster, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys of Schwed, Adams, & McGinley, P.A. if you have been injured or a loved one killed as a result of someone else’s negligence in Florida. Our experienced personal injury attorneys have more than 150 years of combined practice representing victims of all sorts of negligence. We regularly represent those who have been injured, including those who have suffered catastrophic injuries or the survivors and loved ones of individuals who have suffered a wrongful death in circumstances that were caused by someone else’s negligence. If you, a family member or a loved one have been injured or killed as a result of such negligence, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Schwed, Adams & McGinley, P.A. today at 877-694-6079 or contact@schwedlawfirm.com for a free consultation.