Furnace, homebuilder, gas, plumbing companies settle gas explosion lawsuit for $5 million

By Mary Mitchell

Published on May 26, 2006

The blast damaged two dozen houses nearby and was heard five miles away. Kim Bowen and her son Paul Bowen were killed; Paul Bowen's fiancée, Molly Wong, survived with numerous injuries. She and Bowen were visiting his mother at her Downers Grove home over the Thanksgiving holiday when the explosion took place.

The settlement calls for furnace installer West Chicago Komfort to pay $50,000, utility company Nicor to pay $175,000, homebuilder Smykal & Associates to pay $2.25 million, and gas line installer Professional Plumbing to pay $2.53 million. None of the companies admitted to any fault, and their accounts of how the explosion was caused differ substantially. According to the Bowen family's attorney, David Wise, a six-inch length of gas pipeline connected to the home's furnace had apparently come loose, allowing natural gas to escape and then be ignited by the furnace's pilot light. However, the extent of the damage to the house prevented a definitive conclusion about the cause of the explosion.

Family members had hoped to learn who was responsible for the Nov. 30, 1996 explosion. The settlement ends nine years of following the case through the DuPage County court system.

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