Landlord Sued for Death of Infant in 2007 Apartment Fire

Philadelphia, PAA Philadelphia attorney has filed a lawsuit against the former landlord of the Hockenbury and Balasavage families for a fire in their apartment that is believe to be due to faulty wiring. The fire killed infant Emily Joan Hockenbury.

When the Wilkes-Barre apartment fire occurred on July 31, 2007, Emily was only 6 months old. Her mother, Allicia Balasavage tried to save her, but sustained burns to her back, body, and face in her efforts. Alicia Balasavage, her father Charles Balasavage, and her fiancé Scott Hockenbury blame the landlords, Anthony and Karen Balucha for the incident that killed young Emily.

The lawsuit that has been filed in Luzerne County Court includes five counts against the Baluchas. The amount in damages exceeds $250,000 for medical expenses, the wrongful death of Emily, emotional distress, pain and suffering, and lost wages.

According to the lawsuit, the Baluchas led Allicia Balasavage and Scott Hockenbury to believe that the condition of their apartment was fine, but a city ordinance was violated when the Baluchas did not have the apartment inspected. Public records do show that a permit was never acquired for the apartment inspected and there is no record of the $35 fee being paid to acquire a permit. The city ordinance that requires this was put in place in 2004 and not acquiring a permit is indeed a violation.

The lawsuit also alleges that Balucha did not respond to various complaints about the safety of the unit. When Balasavage and Hockenbury moved into the apartment, they had noticed several issues such as there not being enough smoke alarms, there were various shorts and power surges occurring, and some of the electrical outlets were defective. They believe that these are the conditions that led to the fire, although it was not confirmed by Wyoming state police that those issues were what really caused it. The state fire marshal has also been unable to make a ruling on the cause, but it is still under investigation.

However, Penn says that when he investigated the case, had discussions with his clients and other individuals, reviewed various documents, and inspected the building, that there is no doubt that the fire was electrical in nature.

But the state fire marshal says that it is not known if a cause will truly be found.

By Ginger Gillenwater