A gas explosion, or any accident, that causes death, is a tragic event. If there is factual evidence that the tragedy could have been avoided, the question of wrongful death becomes relevant. A gas explosion in Pennsylvania around a year ago resulted in an Allentown man losing his 16-year-old daughter, 4-month-old grandson and his 69-year-old mother–his entire world.

Now living in Norristown with his aunt and uncle, the devastated man is doing his utmost to recover and deal with his psychological wounds that may never heal. Recently, the man and the baby's father filed a wrongful death suit claiming the gas utility was "negligent, careless and reckless" through its "installation and maintenance" of the 83-year old gas main that, first, cracked, and then exploded.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, a year later, has yet to determine the cause of the crack in the pipe. The collapse of one person's whole world was not the only casualty, as two neighbors also lost their lives when the explosion leveled at least one-half of the neighborhood block.

The father/grandfather/son hopes that the wrongful death lawsuit will assist the entire community, helping to prevent another similar tragedy in the future. The distraught plaintiff feels this to be his "moral duty."

While living the American dream, the plaintiff settled in Allentown from his native Dominican Republic over 12 years ago. He became a U.S. citizen, earned a commercial trucking operator license and bought his first home, now destroyed. Away in New York on a long-distance trucking assignment, he received a call from a neighbor to inform him of the explosion–and that his family was missing.

Although he has family in New York and Puerto Rico, the gentleman chooses to continuing living in his beloved Pennsylvania. Although he has little left but wonderful memories of his immediate family, he plans on following through with his wrongful death suit until its conclusion and adjudication.

Source: The Morning Call, "A year after the Allentown gas explosion, Manuel Cruz tries to cope," Manuel Gamiz Jr., Feb. 8, 2012