Doylestown, PA –
Centre Daily Times – A couple living in a 200-year-old New Hope apartment building destroyed in a gas line explosion have filed a lawsuit against a Bethlehem contractor that was digging a new water main when the blast occurred.
The suit, filed by William and Maura McNamara in Bucks County Court, alleges that Joao & Bradley Construction Co. should have used hand tools instead of mechanical equipment when they were digging near the gas line. The couple is seeking $150,000 in damages.
The Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority hired Joao & Bradley to install a water pipe near the building.
At the time of the Feb. 7 explosion the McNamaras were tenants of the home, which is owned by David Del Negro. The suit states that the McNamaras were inside the building when the explosion occurred, and that Maura McNamara was injured.
“Maura was in the downstairs hallway. She was thrown by the force of the explosion up against the wall, hitting her head and side” and causing injuries to her head, teeth and ribs, said the couple’s attorney, Gerald J. Dugan of Philadelphia.
The couple also lost all their possessions in the blast, according to the lawsuit filed Friday.