CLARKSBURG – The estate of a Clarksburg man blames the city, the gas company and contractors for causing the man’s home to explode earlier this year, causing his death.
Melissa O’Connell, as administratrix of the estate of Gregory Lee Loser, filed her complaint July 22 in Harrison Circuit Court against Hope Gas Inc., the City of Clarksburg, Green River Group LLC and Snider & Son LLC.
“Gas companies owe the public the highest degree of care due to the inherently dangerous nature of their activities,” attorney Chirag Desai told The West Virginia Record. “When Gas companies cut corners, the consequences are often catastrophic or fatal. Our investigation reveals that this was a preventable explosion, and we look forward to holding those that caused and/or contributed to Mr. Loser’s painful death accountable in a court of law.
According to the complaint, Hope Gas installed orange plastic gas lines in Clarksburg in the early 1980s. The lawsuit says those pipes have deteriorated and that, before the January explosion, gas leaks had required the gas lines to be repaired and replaced.
“The gas lines in that area have needed to be replaced for years, but Hope Gas continued to repair the lines instead of spending the money to replace them,” the complaint states. “Replacing these lines would have kept the community safe.
“Oftentimes, these leaks go unrepaired despite the fact that Hope Gas knows, or should have known, that the leaks exist in its lines through inspection, testing, and other means.”
Last year, Hope Gas repaired a line at the intersection of Chestnut and Harvey streets using a mechanical fitting to repair part of the line. The complaint says those repairs were required because Snider & Son and another company only identified as Cornerstone were drilling August 5-6 in the area when a gas line was struck. A water line also was ruptured, and the complaint says that could have affected the soil supporting the gas line.
That repair caused gas to escape and travel to Loser’s home on Kramer Drive, according to the complaint. The home exploded January 26 when that collected gas was ignited, according to the complaint. Loser was severely burned and later died from his injuries.
“The mechanical fitting on the gas line failed either due to poor installation or the poor condition of the vintage gas line, causing gas to escape in the vicinity of Chestnut Street and migrate up to Gregory Loser's house,” the complaint states. “Due to the cold temperatures, the gas could not escape through the ground and migrated up the hill and into the basement of the Loser residence. At that point, a foreseeable ignition source ignited the gas, causing a catastrophic explosion.”
A Hope Gas report to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said the cause of the explosion may have been a connection failure on the gas line at the intersection of Chestnut and Harvey Street. The report also indicates roadway, water, and sewage work at the intersection may be a cause. The Clarksburg Water Board, through contractor Green River and subcontractor Snider & Son worked in the area before the explosion.
The estate accuses Hope Gas of strict liability and negligence, and it accuses the city, Green River and Snider & Son of negligence. The estate seeks compensatory, pre- and post-judgment interest, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
In a statement, Hope Gas said it doesn’t not comment on pending litigation.
“That being said, our thoughts remain with Mr. Loser’s family and others affected by this incident,” the company said. “We would like to reassure every community we serve that Hope Gas exceeds federal requirements related to monitoring our pipeline infrastructure across the entire state of West Virginia.”
O’Connell is being represented by Desai of Desai Law in Morgantown, by William M. Tiano and Tony L. O’Dell of Tiano O’Dell in Charleston and by Justin Everett of Morgantown. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge D. Andrew McMunn.
Harrison Circuit Court case number 25-C-229
