Hotel employees sue Atmos, A group of eight employees and two family members are suing the owners of the Sandman Signature hotel along with gas utility company Atmos Energy over an explosion that rocked downtown Fort Worth.

This is at least the fourth case filed in Dallas County over the Jan. 8 explosion.A Dallas County court granted a temporary injunction to restaurant worker José Mira, 49, to allow his attorneys to investigate the wreckage. Mira alleged in his lawsuit he reported a strong smell of gas to hotel management before the explosion.

Atmos Energy said in a statement Friday its internal investigation found no evidence its system was responsible for the explosion. The Fort Worth fire department followed with a statement noting representatives of the National Transportation Safety Board were on hand to supervise Atmos’ investigation.

However, Greenberg said Atmos should make its investigation public to give more transparency into the potential cause of the explosion.

Representatives for Atmos did not directly answer questions from the Star-Telegram asking if the company would release its findings. Instead, the representative reiterated the findings of its own investigation noting it was done in partnership with Fort Worth’s police and fire departments along with the state Railroad Commission.

When you stay in a hotel, you have a reasonable expectation it won’t explode, Greenberg said. Several of his clients face mounting medical bills and mental trauma and are seeking monetary compensation of at least a $1 million.