Three people were injured when a house in the Detroit suburb of Harper Woods exploded on September 21. Fire officials say a natural gas buildup was the source of the blast that leveled the home, located at 20839 Lennon, around 10:30 that morning. Two of the injured were real estate appraisers who had come to appraise the vacant home which was in the process of being sold. The house exploded when they opened the front door. The third person injured was a neighbor.
One of the real estate appraisers, a 66-year-old man, was blown off the front porch and was critically injured when he sustained serious head injuries. The other appraiser, a 33-year-old woman, was seriously injured and is in stable condition, according to local media. The neighbor was treated and released from the hospital.
Neighbors told local media that the explosion, which caused no smoke and no fire, scattered debris in a two-block radius shaking nearby homes and businesses, shattering windows and knocking books off of the shelves.
DTE Energy, which temporarily shut off the gas in the area, said it received no reports of a leak prior to the explosion. By mid-afternoon, the company was able to determine that all lines on the outside of the house were properly pressurized and no other gas lines in the area were compromised.
Explosion Lawyers with Experience
Gas explosion lawyer Fred Pritzker, whose law firm Pritzker Hageman recently obtained a $40 million settlement for a client who was severely burned in a gas explosion, says investigators are likely trying to determine the answers to key questions such as:
- Was an appliance involved?
- If so, was it defective or installed improperly?
- Did contractors working on the house rupture a gas line?
Only a few law firms in the country have experience with explosion cases. Pritzker Hageman is one of them. Our lead attorneys for these cases are Fred Pritzker and Eric Hageman. To contact them for a free consultation call 1 (888) 377-8900. The call is free and there is n obligation.
