The Associated Press
CARLSBAD, N.M. — The state Court of Appeals has ruled that firefighters who responded to a 2000 natural gas pipeline explosion that killed a dozen members of an extended family can sue for emotional trauma.
The Santa Fe-based court’s June 29 decision overturned a lower court ruling.
Then-state District Judge William Lynch in March 2004 dismissed a lawsuit by emergency personnel who sought damages for emotional trauma suffered in responding to the explosion. The dismissal was sought by El Paso Natural Gas Co., which operated the 50-year-old pipeline.