The family of Marisol Perez has filed a lawsuit accusing Atmos Energy of gross negligence after Perez and her infant son died in the Oak Cliff apartment explosion, CBS Texas reports.
The gross-negligence claim is an allegation from the Perez family’s reported lawsuit, not a finding against Atmos. CBS Texas also reports that Atmos said pressure testing before the rupture showed the gas line was operating properly. According to the station, a National Transportation Safety Board report found that workers struck an unmarked Atmos gas line.
How this lawsuit fits into the aftermath
The Perez family’s reported filing is distinct from an earlier wrongful-death action announced by a plaintiffs’ law firm. Hamilton Wingo announced that earlier lawsuit in June in connection with the same explosion.
The Associated Press reported that the explosion and fire killed at least three people. AP also reported that Atmos said it had been told an unrelated construction crew damaged a pipeline.
What remains unresolved
The accounts place the new lawsuit alongside an earlier legal action and differing statements about the gas line, but they do not resolve legal responsibility or final causation. DFW Daily Brief did not independently obtain the Perez family’s petition, a case number or details of the relief requested. Final investigation findings also were not independently obtained.
That distinction matters as litigation and the investigation proceed: the deaths and explosion form the established context, while the family’s gross-negligence claim remains an allegation and Atmos has offered a response concerning the line’s condition and reported damage.
