A Houston lawyer filed a $ 100 million lawsuit against Entergy Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, alleging that widespread blackouts contributed to the suspected death of hypothermia by an 11-year-old Conroe boy.
A lawsuit filed on Saturday by attorney Tony Buzbee of Houston alleges that Cristian Pineda’s suspected death from hypothermia would not have happened if ERCOT and the energy company had adequately protected the power grid against the harsh winter or alerted residents to outages. prolonged at the start of the deadly climate crisis.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the family in the Jefferson County district court, accuses ERCOT and Entergy Texas of negligence and gross negligence. The Pineda family seeks compensation, funeral expenses and a sentence of more than $ 100 million, according to the suit.
“This is a tragedy, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family,” said ERCOT in a statement. “We have not yet reviewed any pending cases and will respond accordingly as soon as we do.”
Entergy Texas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The petition accuses both defendants of failing to alert people of a known danger, of not adequately protecting themselves against winter storms, of not following published industry practices and procedures, and of not informing customers that they would be without power for days, between other things.
The actions of ERCOT and Entergy involved an “extreme degree of risk”, says Buzbee in the process. Their negligence was the “close cause” of the child’s injuries, argues the lawyer in the suit.
ERCOT, which manages 90% of the state’s electric charge, instructed energy suppliers to conduct charge disposal as demand for heat and energy increased during the harsh winter, cutting off the power of millions of Texans. More than half of homes in the Houston area have lost power.
At a Conroe trailer park, the Pineda family of five huddled together to warm up after losing power on Monday morning. Cristian shared a bed with his younger brother, trying to warm him up Monday night. Nearby, his mother and stepfather comforted his younger brother. Maria Pineda found her son unanswered the next day. She called 911 and tried CPR, but the boy was dead.
Family members organized a GoFundMe to raise money to send Cristian’s body to burial in Honduras, where his grandparents reside.
An autopsy has been performed, but it will be several weeks before the cause of death is determined, Conroe Police spokesman Sergeant. Jeff Smith said. The boy appeared to be a healthy child, Smith said.
Buzbee claims in the process that energy suppliers “put profits above people’s well-being”, ignoring recommendations for preparing energy infrastructure for the winter after a severe winter storm in 2011.
As an independent network, ERCOT is not subject to federal regulation nor is it required to prepare the power grid for the winter.
“Of course, just because it is not mandatory by law, does not mean that failing to do so is reasonable behavior,” the suit alleges. “ERCOT failed with all Texans and allowed suppliers to speak to Texans.”
Instead of warning residents that they would be out of power for days, the suit says, ERCOT posted carefree messages on skipping clothes and turning off kitchen appliances, according to the screenshots.
“Accurate information may have saved Cristian Pineda’s young life,” said the suit.