--- description: The first lawsuit has been filed over the deadly explosion that killed 8 people in upper Manhattan last week title: Con Edison is getting sued for the East Harlem explosion image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfda95de4aa1f088/6986854c810bbb00f5c90780/harlem-explosion.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Lawsuit](/tag/lawsuit/) ## Lawsuit Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Con Edison Sued Over New York City Explosion by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 18, 2014 1:08 PM CUT  New York City emergency responders search through the rubble at the site of a building explosion in the Harlem section of New York, March 13, 2014. New York City emergency responders search through the rubble at the site of a building explosion in the Harlem section of New York, March 13, 2014.Brendan McDermid—Reuters by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 18, 2014 1:08 PM CUT A woman filed a lawsuit against Con Edison Monday for the injuries she suffered in her apartment more than a block away from last week’s East Harlem gas explosion, [the _NYPost_ reports](http://nypost.com/2014/03/17/first-lawsuit-over-deadly-harlem-building-explosion/ "undefined"). Michelle Nelson, 46, also made an unspecified claim against one of the property owners in her filing with the Manhattan Supreme Court. A gas leak allegedly caused the explosion that destroyed two buildings in upper Manhattan, killing eight people and injuring dozens. While Nelson was the[ first lawsuit filed in regards to the deadly blast,](http://www.myfoxny.com/story/25002481/1st-lawsuit-filed-in-deadly-harlem-blast "undefined") other claims are already in the works. In fact, 20-year-old high school student Jose Vargas filed paperwork to indicate he might sue the city for $10 million after the blast threw him off the seat of a passing bus, tearing ligaments and bursting blood vessels. Con Ed spokesperson Bob McGee told the _Post_: “We’re working with the City, the Salvation Army and the Red Cross to assist the affected families with their expenses in the wake of the tragedy. We haven’t received the complaint but we’ll review it when it arrives.” \[[_New York Post_](http://nypost.com/2014/03/17/first-lawsuit-over-deadly-harlem-building-explosion/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/28518/coned-sued-east-harlem-deadly-explosion/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/28518/coned-sued-east-harlem-deadly-explosion/"},"headline":"Con Edison Sued Over New York City Explosion","datePublished":"2014-03-18T13:08:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:49:18.071Z","description":"The first lawsuit has been filed over the deadly explosion that killed 8 people in upper Manhattan last week","url":"https://time.com/28518/coned-sued-east-harlem-deadly-explosion/","keywords":["Lawsuit","Accident","court","explosion","Harlem"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfda95de4aa1f088/6986854c810bbb00f5c90780/harlem-explosion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfda95de4aa1f088/6986854c810bbb00f5c90780/harlem-explosion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"New York City emergency responders search through the rubble at the site of a building explosion in the Harlem section of New York, March 13, 2014.","caption":"New York City emergency responders search through the rubble at the site of a building explosion in the Harlem section of New York, March 13, 2014.","creditText":"Brendan McDermid—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/lawsuit/","name":"Lawsuit"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/28518/coned-sued-east-harlem-deadly-explosion/","name":"Con Edison Sued Over New York City Explosion"}}]}] ```