Terry & Thweatt attorneys Joe Terry and Lee Thweatt negotiated a confidential settlement on behalf of the family of an 80-year-old woman who burned to death in a fire caused when the natural gas line in her backyard fractured, leaking natural gas that later exploded from an unknown ignition source. Her home was destroyed in the fire, and due to her pre-existing physical disabilities, she was trapped in the home and unable to escape the fire as it spread.
Another law firm first rejected the case and told the family that liability could not be established. However, after the family hired Terry & Thweatt, depositions of gas company personnel revealed that a prior similar incident occurred five years before the incident that killed our client, and the company had made no changes in its policies or procedures to prevent a similar event from occurring again. Moreover, company documents showed that the dangerous condition that created the fractured gas line was openly visible to gas company meter readers for years before the fire, but neither they nor the gas company informed the elderly resident of the home that any potential danger existed. The case was settled before trial at mediation for a confidential sum.