Five days after a series of gas explosions injured more than two dozen residents of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, Mass., lawyers filed a class-action lawsuit against the company responsible for the incident. According to a Sept. 18 report by the Associated Press, the lawsuit, filed against Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, seeks compensation for residents of the three affected cities who were evacuated but did not suffer injuries or property damage.

According to a Sept. 19 Washington Post article, on the same day the lawsuit was filed, Columbia Gas pledged to donate $10 million to the Greater Lawrence Disaster Relief Fund, an emergency relief fund for residents of towns affected by the gas explosions. 

The lawsuit came just one day after Massachusetts senators Edward J. Markey and Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to the president of Columbia Gas and the CEO of Columbia Gas’ parent company, NiSource energy, containing dozens of questions about the timeline and management during the line failure. The letter indicated that the company’s gas lines in the affected area were exposed to internal pressures 12 times greater than the recommended pressure.

Until gas is restored to the affected areas, residents will not have access to hot water in their homes. This limit in the use of utilities has been especially hard for residents of Lawrence, which remains the poorest city in Massachusetts, according to the same Washington Post article. The average household income in Lawrence is about half of the average household income of Massachusetts.

Volunteers distributed donated food and bedding and greeted residents as they returned to their homes five days after evacuating, according to a Sept. 15 Washington Post article. Many residents have stayed at the homes of family members in the area who avoided the gas explosions.

More lawsuits are expected to emerge in the coming weeks as injured residents seek compensation for health-related injuries.