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Apr 11, 2023 · A Pennsylvania candy maker 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,...
Jul 19, 2023 · CNN — An investigation conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board into the explosion at an eastern Pennsylvania candy factory that left seven people dead in March revealed that natural...
- Overview
- Complaints of gas odor before explosion
- "Valued members of the Palmer team"
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.
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.
"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.
Oct 5, 2023 · Despite several employees reporting that they smelled gas at the West Reading factory on March 24, candy manufacturer R.M. Palmer Co. did not evacuate the facility — and that inaction cost lives,...
Oct 5, 2023 · The agency's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found in its investigation that the company, R.M. Palmer, did not have workers exit its manufacturing plant even after some voiced ...
Jun 11, 2024 · More than two dozen candy lines have been recalled amid concerns that they could be contaminated with the potentially deadly food poisoning bug salmonella. A string of sweet treats, from...
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Jun 20, 2024 · A number of chocolate products have been recalled in nine states over concerns they may cause food poisoning. Several chocolate and confectionary items produced by Wisconsin-based Clasen Quality...
