Lawsuit claims Pennsylvania chocolate factory ignored signs before accident

A Pennsylvania candymaker ignored warnings of a gas leak at its chocolate factory and bears responsibility for a subsequent explosion that killed seven workers and injured several others, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The family of Judith "Judy" Lopez-Moran, a 55-year-old mother of three, filed what their lawyers called the first-ever wrongful-death suit against R.M. Palmer Co. after the March blast in West Reading.

Workers smelled gas the day of the explosion and notified Palmer, but the 75-year-old, family-owned company "did nothing," the lawsuit said.

"The gas leak at the factory and the horrific explosion it caused was foreseeable, predictable, and preventable," the complaint says. "Tragically, Judith Lopez-Moran's death and suffering were preventable."

The lawsuit, filed in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, also names gas utility UGI. The company declined to comment on pending litigation.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the explosion, which leveled a building in the factory complex and damaged several other buildings in West Reading.

Federal safety officials previously confirmed they were studying the role of a natural gas pipeline in the blast. The National Transportation Safety Board has called what happened a "natural gas" explosion and fire, citing preliminary information from local authorities and the utility about the pipeline's role.

Complaints of gas odor before explosion

Palmer officials should have evacuated immediately after being told of the gas odor but instead "made a representation to the factory workers, including Judith Lopez-Moran, that the factory was safe and that there was no gas leak," the suit said.

Palmer, according to the suit, "intended to mislead the factory workers ... so that the factory workers would continue working and so that factory downtime would be minimized."

Patricia Borges, who survived the blast and was a friend and co-worker of Lopez-Moran, previously recounted how her arm caught fire as flames engulfed the building. She then fell through the floor into a vat of liquid chocolate. Borges told The Associated Press how she and others had complained about a gas odor about 30 minutes before the factory blew up.

Palmer has offered condolences but has otherwise said little since the explosion. The candy company, which makes seasonal chocolates for occasions like Easter, Christmas and Halloween, employs about 850 people, according to its website. The factory in West Reading has been there since the early 1960s.

"Valued members of the Palmer team"

"The seven who we lost will always be in our prayers, and to those who were injured we wish a speedy recovery. Over the many years that we have worked together many became personal friends and all valued members of the Palmer team. Their loss will be felt forever," the Palmer family said in a statement five days after the explosion.

The law firm representing Lopez-Moran's family, Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, said it represents more than a dozen victims of the explosion.