/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/4RRG6GGFL2MYONTUAAGFR5UNCQ.jpg?ssl=1 "Lawsuit: Kansas man injured while in conference room during Fort Worth hotel explosion")
A Kansas man was inside a second-floor conference room at the Sandman Signature Hotel on Jan. 8 when an explosion occurred beneath him and caused him to become injured, according to a lawsuit he filed days after the incident.
David Seibolt was among the 21 people injured in the blast in the 800 block of Houston Street in downtown Fort Worth that impacted the bottom floors of the 20-story historic building, according to the suit he filed Jan. 11 in a Dallas County district court.
Defendants include the Sandman Signature Hotel and its owner Northland Properties as well as Musume and the restaurant’s owner Rock Libations.
Seibolt, of Johnson County, Kansas, requested a jury trial and is seeking more than $1 million in damages.
He was “giving a presentation when a violent and sudden explosion occurred,” the lawsuit says. “He suffered serious injuries,” including to his head which required “multiple staples and sutures to his scalp.”
Photos: Fort Worth explosion at Sandman Signature Hotel
He alleges that the defendants acted negligently because they were warned multiple times about a strong gas odor prior to the explosion yet they failed to “reasonably warn, evacuate, or otherwise reasonably respond to the dangerous condition,” therefore put him and others in danger.
The lawsuit says Seibolt’s injuries have had a serious effect on his health and well-being, causing him physical pain and mental anguish. Other damages listed include medical expenses, loss of earning capacity and more.
Seibolt is one of about a dozen people who have already filed suit against entities tied to the explosion, including the hotel, restaurant and Atmos Energy.
The other lawsuits have been filed by hotel employees who were injured and their spouses, two Musume employees — one of whom remained in critical condition at the hospital more than a week after the explosion — and a man working in a building adjacent to the hotel.
Each lawsuit alleges multiple defendants were aware of the concerning smell of gas ahead of the blast.
Fort Worth fire officials recently said Atmos completed its assessment of the natural gas pipeline outside the hotel and “found no indication that its system was involved” in the explosion. The fire department said it remains “confident that natural gas was involved,” though, and said it would transition its investigative focus to inside the building.
