Three brothers have sued LUMA Energy in federal court, alleging the company’s negligence caused their father’s death in Carolina, Puerto Rico. According to the lawsuit, Juan Carlos Marcial Sánchez, a 73-year-old Dominican man, was pruning a tree on Roberto Clemente Avenue in Villa Carolina on October 11, 2025. The tree was covered in brush and vegetation that LUMA had not cleared.
While he worked, he made contact with an energized cable, and the electric shock killed him. Neighbors said they had reported the cable tangled in the tree for years, but LUMA installed a temporary fix without repairing it fully, according to Telemundo’s report the day of the accident. The plaintiffs, Carlos Domingo Marcial Ceballo, Henry Miguel Marcial Ceballo and Alfredo Antonio Marcial Ceballo, allege LUMA was negligent because it is in charge of maintaining the power lines in the area.
They add that the company violated Rules 121 and 214 of the National Electrical Safety Code, which require electric companies to periodically inspect lines in service, keep a record of violations and correct them as soon as possible. The suit was filed on October 7 under Article 1536 of the Civil Code, which governs liability for negligence.
The brothers, who live in the Dominican Republic, seek no less than $500,000 each, for a total of $1.5 million, for the mental anguish caused by their father’s sudden death. The family ran a GoFundMe to bring his body to the Dominican Republic.