Back in 2016, a deadly propane gas explosion occurred at a Pine Ridge duplex, claiming the lives of four people while also maiming three others. As a result of the accident, two lawsuits have been filed. The most recent lawsuit was filed earlier this month in Oglala Lakota County circuit court on behalf of 13 plaintiffs, and “accuses two companies, Nebraska-based Western Cooperative Company Inc. and South Dakota-based C. Brunsch Inc., doing business as Lakota Plains Propane, of negligence, failure to inspect and warn, strict liability and breach of warranty.”According to the lawsuit, “each of the accused companies supplied propane to one unit of the duplex.” Unfortunately for those living in the duplex, an explosion broke out on October 6, 2016. But why did the explosion occur? Was there something wrong with the propane? Well, according to the lawsuit, “the propane gas explosion and resulting injuries to and deaths of Plaintiffs were caused by both Defendants’ sale and delivery of the propane gas in a defective condition which made it unreasonably dangerous to Plaintiffs and other people in Units 157 and 158.” So yes, the propane was defective and never should have been used in the first place, which is why the lawsuits have been filed.

Graphic of a court judge; image courtesy of mohamed_hassan, https://pixabay.com

For now, the most recent lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial. Of the 13 plaintiffs includes “surviving relatives or representatives of the estates of three people who died in the accident, plus other plaintiffs whose connection to the accident is not explicitly stated.” The three victims who lost their lives in the explosion and are listed in the lawsuit are “Samantha Tobacco, who was 23 years old; Raymond Owen Eagle Elk Sr., 78; and Oletha Ann Mousseau, 74.”The fourth individual that perished in the accident, “19-year-old Elfreda Ann Takes War Bonnett, is represented by her mother in a separate lawsuit filed last year against the same two propane companies.”Despite the claims detailed out in each lawsuit, it looks like a judge may not agree that both defendants are responsible for the tragic accident. Earlier this month on February 14, judge  Jeffrey Connolly “granted Western Cooperative Company’s request to be dismissed,” and wrote that “according to a chemist retained by the plaintiff, propane gas supplied by Lakota Plains Propane entered Unit 157 of the duplex from an uncapped interior propane line...The gas then spread through a common crawl space until something ignited it and caused the explosion.” He added that “there was no evidence that gas supplied by Western Cooperative Company to Unit 158 ever leaked prior to the explosion...The fugitive propane gas was supplied by Lakota Plains, not Western.”At the moment, Lakota Plains Propane has yet to respond to the allegations.

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Second lawsuit filed over fatal Pine Ridge duplex explosionLawsuit filed in fatal Pine Ridge propane explosion