Christian Pavon, 11, died from hypothermia at his home in Conroe, Texas. His family is now suing two electrical companies in a wrongful death suit.
The family of Christian Pavon, the 11-year-old Texas boy who died in his sleep reportedly from hypothermia last week, is suing two electricity companies in a wrongful death suit claiming gross negligence over the boys' death, according to reports.
Christian died last Tuesday at his family's mobile home in Conroe, a city north of Houston, on an evening when the temperatures dropped as low as 9 degrees Fahrenheit, according to weather reports. The family suspects the young boy died of hypothermia, citing freezing temperatures and the lack of power in their home, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The entire family reportedly slept huddled together in a room, to keep warm on the coldest nights of the winter storm. The mother and father were asleep with their baby in one bed while Christian was fast asleep next to his 3-year-old step-brother. They were asleep by 11 p.m. Monday night. The sixth grader was wrapped in blankets, dressed in socks, a shirt, a sweater, and two pairs of paints, his aunt, Jaliza Yera, told KHOU.
When the family, who are originally from Honduras, tried to wake up the young boy Tuesday afternoon, he was unresponsive. The toddler was reportedly fine.
More than 3 million people living in Texas lost power last week, according to CNBC. By Sunday morning, about 30,000 people were still living without electricity.
An autopsy of the boy was conducted Thursday evening, and the medical examiner will likely not release the child's cause of death for weeks, a Conroe Police Department spokesperson told the Chronicle.
"It was his first time [seeing snow]," his mother, Maria Pineda said Thursday, according to the Chronicle. "Everything was well. He was happy that day. He was not at all sick."
Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing the family and the young boy, filed the lawsuit in the Jefferson County District Court last week alleging that the electric companies, ERCOT and Entergy, ignored previous recommendations to winterize their power grids and ultimately, "put profits over the welfare of the people," ABC News reported.
ERCOT called the event a "tragedy," in a statement, adding that, "We haven't yet reviewed the lawsuits and will respond accordingly once we do. Our thoughts are with all Texans who have and are suffering due to this past week. However, because approximately 46% of privately-owned generation tripped offline this past Monday morning, we are confident that our grid operators made the right choice to avoid a statewide blackout."
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of life in our community. We are unable to comment due to pending litigation," Entergy wrote in a statement to Inside Edition Digital.
Water systems in the state are still a bust, with more than 1,300 public water systems disrupted from the weather by Monday. More than 15 million people have been ordered by the state to boil their water to ensure it is drinkable, and even safe enough to brush their teeth or wash their hands with, CNBC reported, citing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
A GoFundMe page created for the boy and his family has raised over $80,000.
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