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Five lawsuits over a home explosion three years ago are now under the purview of one judge in order to avoid the potential for conflicting rulings and to “further the goal of judicial economy,” according to a recent court decision.
The litigation concerns an explosion on Feb. 3, 2022, when about 30 workers were on a home-construction site at 173 Slalom Path Road outside of Aspen in unincorporated Pitkin County. Four of them were hospitalized and four were treated on the scene from an early afternoon gas-created blast, which was later determined by officials to have originated from the mechanical room crawl space under the home’s kitchen. There were no fatalities.
Ninth Judicial District Chief Judge John Neiley, who was assigned the initial negligence lawsuit when it was filed one year after the incident in February 2023, recently issued a written ruling that will make him the presiding judge over the four other suits as well. Three of the five lawsuits are for personal injury and negligence claims asserted by employees injured on the scene.
The first suit was filed in Pitkin County District Court by Carbondale couple Diego Gonzalez and Jessica Gonzalez, who have negligence and loss-of-consortium claims against Black Hills Energy Colorado, Skyline Mechanical, R&A Enterprises and Young Services LLC. A strict liability claim also is against Black Hills.
The suit says that Gonzalez, a carpenter, was organizing tools in the kitchen area above the home’s crawl space when the blast thrust “him into the air like a ragdoll” and his head hit the ceiling some 22 to 25 feet above, the suit says. He suffered spinal cord injuries, broke both of his hands and legs, suffered mild brain trauma and other injuries.
“To date, Mr. Gonzalez has undergone 16 surgeries to repair his body. ... Mr. Gonzalez continues to go through treatment and will need continued medical care for the remainder of his life,” said Aspen lawyer Michael Fox in a statement issued Tuesday. Fox is litigating on behalf of Gonzalez.
Gonzalez was hospitalized for 30 days in Denver after being airlifted there from Aspen. He has received a worker’s compensation claim of $524,932 from Pinnacol Assurance, which also is seeking reimbursement through its court action as an intrapleader.
“Given the millions of dollars in damages at issue and the complexity of this case, the parties expect a considerable amount of discovery in this case,” Neiley wrote in a case-management order delivered Monday.
The Gonzalez case “is the oldest of the bunch and has progressed the farthest in the litigation process,” Neiley’s Dec. 24 ruling said, adding a dose of levity: “This suggests that the cases should be reassigned to the undersigned judge. Lucky me.”
The Gonzalez lawsuit alleges Black Hills Energy Colorado did not inject the property’s gas and main lines with odorants at their legal levels. Black Hills is not admitting fault.
“Put simply, Black Hills denies liability for the incident and disputes the damages sought,” Neiley’s case-management order said. “Black Hills intends to investigate the nature, scope, and extent of the alleged injuries and damages.”
Most of the explosion’s damage was done to the kitchen and family room on the main floor and in the basement’s gym, staircase and media lounge of the unfinished house, which was deemed a total loss, according to an investigation report issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives dated April 15, 2022. Four of the nine employers of workers investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were cited for fined for workplace-safety violations.
Neiley ruled favorably on part of a Fox motion from October — the same month a global mediation among all of the parties didn’t yield settlement — seeking to consolidate the lawsuits. The judge’s ruling said he will allow for the consolidation of discovery, or the exchanging of evidence among the parties, in the lawsuits. After discovery closes, the judge will decide whether to consolidate the suits for trial, according to his ruling.
“The five cases that are proposed for consolidation all arise from the same incident that resulted in an explosion at the construction site on Slalom Path in Pitkin County,” said the judge’s December decision. “However, the theories of recovery in the five cases differ as do the respective parties and insurers. Without reaching the merits of whether the cases are appropriate for consolidation, the court finds that because the underlying facts are all intertwined, it is appropriate for the cases to all be set before the same judge rather than litigated piecemeal. This will avoid potentially conflicted orders being issued and will also further the goal of judicial economy by having all cases proceed before the same judicial officer.”
A lawsuit from another worker over injuries, Daniel Oldenberg, asserts claims against Black Hills, Young Services LLC, R&A Enterprises of Western Colorado, and Skyline Mechanical and Brikor Associates Inc. Oldenberg suffered spinal and brain injuries, among others, from the explosion, according to court filings.
His future medical expenses will range from $2.7 million to $3.9 million, said the judge’s case-management order, which is based in part on arguments presented by the litigants.
The explosion was caused by a “static arc,” said a report from the Aspen Fire Department, which is when static electricity releases through an object to a grounding source.
“An electrician and plumber were working in the basement at the time of the fuel/air explosion and witnessed flame emanating from a switch or switch plate,” the AFD report states. “The plumber describes bleeding the gas line in the confined space as he was trying to attach the gas lines to the boilers and furnaces. The combination of the natural gas atmosphere and an ignition source resulted in the explosion.”
OSHA’s investigation resulted in the following companies penalized:
• General contractor Basalt-based Brikor Associates agreed to pay $40,000 in fines to OSHA for not following OSHA workplace safety regulations when its employees entered the home’s crawl space and not having an employee evaluate the crawlspace for potential hazards.
• R&A Enterprises, based in Glenwood Springs, paid $27,000 in fines to OSHA. R&A also was fined for its employees not troubleshooting the crawl space.
• Skyline Mechanical, of Gypsum, which was responsible for the home’s air ventilation and HVAC system, paid $10,773 in OSHA fines.
• Glenwood Springs-based Young Services, which performed plumbing and heating work, paid $30,000 in fines to OSHA.