FORT WORTH, Texas — Yet another civil suit has been filed against the companies associated with the explosion at the Sandman Hotel in Downtown Fort Worth, this time on behalf of the woman left in critical condition afterward.
27-year-old Maite "Yami" Karen Lopez Ontiveros, an employee at the Sandman Signature Hotel's Musume Restaurant, suffered severe burns from the explosion. She has since been upgraded to severe condition.
The suit, like others filed against Atmos Energy, Nothland Management Corporation, Sandman Hotel Group, Musume and Rock Libations, accuses the companies of several legal claims -- including general and specific negligence, gross negligence and vicarious liability.
In a statement from the Kelley Law Firm, who filed the suit, they state Lopez Ontiveros says staff in the building told management of the gaseous smell in the building, but that she and others weren't given proper instruction on protection and weren't told to leave the building.
“The actions of these Defendants will not go without punishment," Lead Attorney Kevin Kelley said in a statement. "Mrs. Lopez Ontiveros did what any honorable person would do in showing up on time, working hard, and doing all that she could to be good to her employer and the people they serve. To be rewarded with companies who lacked the care of giving her notice that her life could be in danger is unacceptable and they will pay for their actions to ensure this doesn’t happen to any other person in her situation.”
The statement adds that a coworker saw a direct blue flame, told Lopez Ontiveros to run, and then the explosion happened, causing her to be violently thrown, gravely injured, and trapped under the building.
Lopez Ontiveros suffered six broken rips, burns across 23.1% of her body, damage to her upper back, a shattered right arm, kidney lacerations, punctured lungs, as well as blood clots and loss of circulation to her legs, the suit details.
Mrs. Karen Mayte Lopez Ontiveros showed up to work on January 8th, 2024, with the expectation of workplace safety, security, and a chance to return home safely," the statement reads. "At this moment, a hardworking, family-oriented woman lies in the Parkland Hospital in excruciating pain facing an uphill battle for a normal return to her everyday life."
Since the explosion, the statement says Lopez Ontiveros has had five skin grafts, nine surgeries and doubts on whether she will survive long enough to raise her children.
