Victims of last year’s nursing home explosion fighting in court – Bucks Round-Up – April 15, 2026
Victims of last year’s nursing home explosion fighting in court
Eight lawsuits have been filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in relation to the December 23 explosion at the Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol Township. The relatives of a nursing home resident who died in the explosion and fire are among the latest victims taking legal action against the utility company and the operator of the nursing home, formerly known as Silver Lake Nursing and Rehab. The defendants in the lawsuits are PECO Energy, its parent company, Exelon Corp., Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Saber Healthcare Holdings LLC, and Saber Healthcare Group, which took over the 174-bed nursing home weeks before the explosion. Accusations of recklessness and negligence on the part of Saber and PECO regarding their alleged failure to act on complaints from staff and residents about a strong gas odor in the building and the allegedly inadequate efforts to fix the gas leak have been lodged. The Saber Group previously said the initial report shows the nursing home staff acted promptly, while multiple PECO technicians unsuccessfully attempted to repair their gas line. More than 125 people, most medically frail and injured residents, required assistance to exit the two-story building that remains fenced off. The National Transportation Safety Board released an initial report, but the final report is not expected before December, according to Bristol Township Council President Craig Bowen (D), who was involved in helping move wheelchair patients to nearby Lower Bucks Hospital following the explosion and fire. So far, the majority of lawsuits involve former employees who were among the estimated 180 people inside the building when it exploded. The former employees maintain the gas smell in the building was an ongoing problem for hours, if not days, before the blast, and allege administrators ignored complaints, which they deny. Meanwhile, the burned-out building rubble remains where it collapsed in a flaming explosion two days before Christmas.
United Way building a larger HELP Center and HQ in Levittown
The United Way of Bucks County is building its new headquarters and an essential HELP Center on the site of a former synagogue on Edgely Road, Bristol Township. United Way has been operating a HELP Center in a shopping center on the corner of Routes 13 and 413 since 2020, while headquartered in its current Hood Boulevard, Fairless Hills office. Apparently, what led to the expansion plan was an increased demand for services. United Way reported HELP Center services increased 1,400 percent since its opening with 90 percent of the now-15,000 visitors saying they sought and received help with economic hardship issues. While located in Lower Bucks County, the HELP Center provides services county-wide through more than 100 nonprofits, schools, and municipal partners serving as distribution points for HELP Center products. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-01) said United Way’s HELP Center has become one of the most vital pillars of support for struggling families. The congressman secured $4.25 million in federal funding to establish a permanent HELP Center in Bristol Township, Levittown. Bristol Township Council President Craig Bowen (D) welcomed the new facility and investment in United Way that has provided essential resources to local families with dignity and care. And last week, Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia (D) and other county officials as well as United Way board members Jeff Lehocky, of QNB Bank, and Randy Beaman, of Univest, were given a tour of the new site that is under construction and expected to be completed this summer. For more information and how you can help United Way, visit uwbucks.org/breakthrough.
Still separate PDs for Yardley Borough and Lower Makefield
Yardley Borough will keep its own police department intact rather than merge with adjacent Lower Makefield or use the Pennsylvania State Police for additional coverage. Yardley Borough Council has disbanded its Police Planning Committee once the mayor and council learned that the borough’s unionized police officers would not be hired by Lower Makefield and that ending their jobs also would result in substantial payouts to the Yardley officers. The borough’s full-time officers are protected under a collective bargaining agreement that allows them to reject any proposals that would impact their employment. Yardley officials also said they did not believe state police would be able to provide the type of coverage borough residents currently have. But the merger and police service issues are related to the borough budget. The Yardley Police Department budget of $928,488 accounts for a large portion of the overall $2,25 million budget and the borough now is considering new sources of income, including an earned income tax which will be discussed at the May 5 council meeting. Yardley’s police department is comprised of five full-time officers, including Chief William Golden, and nine part-time officers serving 2,600 residents. Lower Makefield’s police department serves 33,000 residents and has 41 sworn officers but operates with 39, including Police Chief Joseph Kelly, a former Yardley Borough police chief.
Pat Wandling is a veteran journalist, formerly of The Bucks County Courier, and was a mainstay on WBCB for over 20 years.
