FILE – Emergency personnel work at the site of a deadly explosion at a chocolate factory in West Reading, Pa., March 25, 2023. According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday, April 11, a Pennsylvania candy-maker ignored warnings of a gas leak at its chocolate factory and bears responsibility for a subsequent explosion that killed seven workers. (Ben Hasty/Reading Eagle via AP, File)

A lawsuit over a deadly explosion at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory says the candy-maker ignored warnings of a natural gas leak. The lawsuit was filed by the family of one of seven workers killed last month. It alleges that R.M. Palmer Co. bears responsibility for the explosion. The family of Judy Lopez-Moran on Tuesday filed the first wrongful-death suit against Palmer. The suit says Palmer was warned about a natural gas leak, but failed to evacuate. A message seeking comment was sent to Palmer. Another defendant, gas utility UGI, declined comment. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the March 24 blast in West Reading.