If you were hurt in a natural gas or propane explosion in Maryland, you may have a claim against the gas company, a contractor, a landlord, a propane supplier or a manufacturer, depending on where the gas escaped. These are ordinary Maryland injury claims, but they are built on an engineering investigation of the gas system, and the physical evidence is often taken away within days.
One explosion also tends to injure many people: residents, neighbors, workers and people passing by. Several claims against the same defendants means the question of who else is liable, and how much insurance stands behind them, comes up early.
Which side of the meter the gas escaped on
For natural gas, the meter is the dividing line most investigations start from. The utility generally owns and maintains the mains, the service line to the building, and the meter and pressure regulator. The pipes and appliances after the meter usually belong to the owner of the building.
- A leak in a main or service line points toward the utility, or toward whoever dug into the line
- A failed regulator or meter points toward the utility and the maker of the component
- A leak inside the building points toward the owner, the landlord, or the plumber or HVAC contractor who installed, moved or repaired the piping or an appliance
- A failed connector, valve or appliance points toward the manufacturer, see defective product claims
Propane works differently. There is no utility main. The tank, regulator and lines are usually owned or serviced by the propane supplier, and delivery, refilling and leak checks are where these cases tend to turn.
What usually causes a gas explosion
- Excavation damage, where a contractor digs into a buried gas line. Maryland requires anyone digging to have underground lines located first through Miss Utility, and whether that was done is often the first question.
- Old or corroded pipe that the operator knew about or should have replaced
- Leak reports that were not answered properly, by the utility, the landlord or a property manager
- Appliance installation and renovation work, including stoves and dryers moved without the line being capped or reconnected correctly
- Regulator and venting failures that let gas pressure build inside a building
- Propane delivery and tank errors, such as refilling a system that had not been checked for leaks
Who can be liable
- The gas utility, for its mains, service lines, meters and regulators, and for how it responded to leak reports
- Excavation, utility and construction contractors, where digging or boring damaged a line
- Landlords, property owners and managers, for building piping, appliances and ignored complaints
- Plumbers and HVAC contractors, for installation and repair work
- Propane suppliers, for tanks, lines, deliveries and inspections
- Manufacturers of connectors, valves, regulators and appliances
More than one of these is often responsible at once. Naming all of them matters because a serious blast can injure several households, and every claimant is looking to the same insurance.
Who investigates, and what happens to the evidence
Fire investigators determine origin and cause. For natural gas incidents, state pipeline safety regulators at the Maryland Public Service Commission can investigate as well, and a major pipeline accident can bring in federal investigators. Those investigations exist to find the cause and prevent the next one. They do not decide anyone’s civil claim, and your deadlines keep running while they take place.
The evidence that proves the case, including the meter, regulator, sections of pipe, connectors and the appliance, is often removed by the utility or the investigators. We ask in writing that it be preserved, and that nothing be cut, tested or discarded until every party has had a chance to inspect it.
The injuries a blast causes
An explosion injures in several ways at once, and the claim has to account for each:
- Burns from the fireball and the fire that follows, see burn injury claims for what a burn claim has to cover
- Brain injury, from the pressure wave and from being thrown or struck, often missed at first; see brain injury claims
- Hearing loss and ruptured eardrums, which are common in blasts and easy to overlook
- Lung injury from the pressure wave and from smoke
- Crush and fracture injuries where walls, floors or ceilings come down, see building collapse claims
People who lose their home also lose property, belongings and housing, and those losses belong in the claim alongside the injuries.
Gas explosions at work
A worker hurt in a gas explosion on the job usually has a workers’ compensation claim. Workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against your employer, and in exchange it pays without you having to prove fault.
If someone other than your employer contributed to your injury, you can bring an ordinary injury claim against them in addition to your compensation claim. In gas explosions that is often the utility, an excavation contractor or an equipment manufacturer, and that second claim is the one that covers pain and full lost earnings.
Deadlines
Most Maryland injury lawsuits must be filed within three years of the injury, and a death follows the wrongful death rules. Where a government body owned the building or the line, written notice is required much sooner. The evidence deadline is earlier than all of them: components are removed and scenes are cleared within days.
