Gas explosions have caused some of the worst injuries I have ever seen in my career as a Central New York personal injury lawyer. They are what I call a “double whammy” – they cause terrible crush injuries (because buildings collapse on the victims) and just as terrible burn injuries (because of the explosion and fire). As a Central New York gas explosion lawyer, I have been representing 9 clients whose home exploded when a propane gas leak filled it with gas. Human cost? One dead, one paralyzed from the waist down, one whose legs are crushed beyond belief, and left 7 others with serious burn and crush injuries.
So today when I read about the huge gas main explosion in Philadelphia that killed a utility worker and left three co-workers in critical condition, I felt connected to those poor workers. They will have the same kinds of injuries my clients have. And I also feel proud of them. The workers had responded to a report of gas odor, found the leak, and were attempting to repair it. They probably knew the danger, but stepped up and did their duty.
A TV news channel caught the explosion on film.
Gas main explosions like this one are on the rise. Maybe you remember the terrible blast last September in California. Why are they on the rise? Our underground gas pipes nationwide are aging, corroding, and just plain falling apart. Yet utility companies apparently aren’t in a hurry to replace them; that costs money and eats into profits. So, one might ask, why doesn’t government step in and force their hand? Unfortunately, our government largely leaves it up to utility companies to inspect their own gas pipes and decide whether and when to replace them.
So where does that leave the rest of us? Simple: in harm’s way. And there’s not much we can do about it either. You can’t go out into your street, dig it up, and inspect those pipes yourself. But if you get hurt in a gas explosion, you sure can sue.
Every single gas explosion I have ever been involved in as a New York gas explosion lawyer, or read about, could have been avoided if everyone, including the gas companies, had followed proper and safe gas explosion prevention practices. Unfortunately, more often than not, cutting corners, and cutting costs, wins out over safe practices. And that’s why we need good gas explosion lawyers — to get justice for the burned, crushed, broken dead and injured victims of preventable gas explosions.
I’m proud to do my job!
Keep safe!
Mike Bersani
Email me at: bersani@mbk-law.com I’d love to hear from you!
Michael G. Bersani, Esq.
mbk-law.com
Central NY Personal Injury Lawyer Michaels Bersani Kalabanka
1-315-253-3293