Family sues Texas power providers for $100M after death

Texas power providers the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and Energy Corporation have been slammed with a $100 million lawsuit accusing the company of gross negligence in the death of an 11-year-old child. The child’s family claims he suffered from hypothermia after the mobile home where he lived lost electricity and heat during a freezing winter storm that caused power grid failures across Texas.

Maria Pineda, the mother of decedent Cristian Pineda, filed the wrongful death suit alleging that the utility companies “put profits over the welfare of people” when they ignored recommendations to winterize the power grid. The most recent polar vortex unofficially called Winter Storm Uri caused an epic power grid failure that left more than four million Texans without heat and electricity for days as temperatures in some parts of the state plunged to single digits.

According to the lawsuit, Cristian died on Feb. 16 in his family’s mobile home in a Houston suburb while trying to stay warm under a pile of blankets with his three-year-old brother. The family found him unresponsive and attempted CPR while calling 911. The family believes that Cristian died due to hypothermia but is waiting for his autopsy results for death’s official cause.

The lawsuit contends that ERCOT caused customers to believe that the blackouts would be temporary, so they stayed in the area and failed to properly prepare for the winter storm. It also notes that ERCOT ignored recommendations from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to shore up the power grid in case of a severe storm like this. The federal report, issued in 2011, found that state officials had previously “issued a number of recommendations aimed at improving winterization on the part of the generators.” Although the recommendations were not mandatory, implementation of the recommendations lapsed over time.

Editor’s Note: At the time of this article’s publication, more than 70 deaths have been attributed to Winter Storm Uri. More than a dozen were people, including Cristian, who perished in homes that had lost heat. The power company’s inability to provide service that causes illness and property damage claims could result in insurance implications. And there will be a duty to defend under a liability policy in a wrongful death case. If the utility companies had followed regulatory recommendations in the past, these losses would not have occurred. Businesses can purchase off-premises utility service coverage, which provides coverage for property damage due to an interruption of utility services from off the insured premises.

Related: 

• Insured losses from winter freeze could hit $18 billion
• Here’s your winter storm reality check: Are you prepared?
• Tips to prevent frozen pipes this winter