Maryland Man sues city, gas company over home explosion

BALTIMORE (AP) — A man who was seriously injured in a natural gas explosion in Baltimore has filed a lawsuit against Baltimore Gas & Electric as well as the city.

The Baltimore Sun reported Wednesday that the man claims both are responsible for the August explosion that had badly burned him and buried him in his home.

Terry James had rented a basement apartment at 4232 Labyrinth Road. His attorneys claim BGE knew its gas lines were unsafe and failed to respond to a meter for the house that recorded “a shocking and abnormally high rate of natural gas flowing into the building basement.”

The complaint says that “BGE opted not to respond to the area promptly and address the gas leak in any fashion.”

BGE spokesman Aaron Koos said the company does not comment on the merits of pending litigation. But he added that BGE’s equipment “was inspected, tested, and found to be operating safely and was not the cause of the tragic natural gas explosion that occurred on Aug. 10.”

The lawsuit claims the incident occurred the day after a homeowner hired an HVAC company to install or work on a furnace and gas piping.