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“Because Eversource failed to maintain meaningful and clear records, it was unable to perform adequate and safe maintenance of critical infrastructure gas pipelines,” the complaint states.

The wife of a man killed in a natural gas explosion in Maynard is suing Eversource Energy for $450 million, claiming the energy giant failed to properly fix leaks and pipe corrosion near the home.

“Eversource’s decisions and business activities resulted in Greg Sharrigan losing his life, his wife losing her husband, two sons losing their father, and the community losing a hero,” said the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Middlesex Superior Court.

Sharrigan, 67, died in 2021 when a natural gas explosion sparked a second-alarm fire at his Park Street home. Investigators at the time determined that a leaky underground gas line “caught fire in a basement crawl space.” The Boston Globe reported.

Sharrigan, a union licensed electrician, had noticed a “musty” smell in the house that grew stronger overnight, according to the complaint. Sharrigan had called the Maynard Fire Department to report the smell before going to the basement to investigate, where he died from the explosion.

According to court documents, Sharrigan’s wife Carol, who represents his estate, is seeking $450 million in punitive and compensatory damages.

“It is very difficult for me to speak about what Eversource did because the pain they caused is truly indescribable. Nothing can ever undo this damage,” Carol said in a statement. “I am raising my voice to prevent something like this from ever happening again. The public needs to know that Eversource was negligent and put lives at risk.”

The family’s lawyers point to a Department of Public Utilities incident report from last fall that said Eversource violated several federal pipeline safety regulations, in part because of “inadequate procedures for detecting active corrosion.”

The DPU incident report also alleges that Eversource used “unclear and inconsistent procedures” in dealing with gas leaks and that at least six employees who investigated the leaks were not properly qualified.

“As shocking as this case was, what is even more shocking is that Eversource’s alleged safety system is riddled with cost-cutting measures,” attorney Sweeney Merrigan said in a statement. “Eversource’s failure to properly track and repair leaking natural gas pipelines is because it prioritizes costs over dangers; it represents a classic corporate failure that puts profits over people.”

However, a DPU spokesman said the investigation was ongoing and the report had not yet been completed.

“The Department of Public Utilities is currently conducting an investigation into the Maynard gas incident,” the spokesperson said. “The investigation, which is being led by the department’s Pipeline Safety Division, will include a comprehensive review of the root cause of the incident, the company’s response and the company’s compliance with state and federal pipeline safety regulations and public safety laws.”

The lawsuit alleges that Eversource knew about the underground leak at least three years before the explosion. The dangerous nature of the leak near the Sharrigan home was not addressed because Eversource “repeatedly misidentified and misclassified” it.

“Eversource’s records showed that the leak history was inconsistent and unclear, and many of the documents provided were partially or entirely illegible,” the complaint states. “Because Eversource did not maintain meaningful and clear records, it was unable to perform adequate and safe maintenance of the critical infrastructure gas pipelines.”

Eversource denies the claim that the company knew about the leak that caused Sharrigan’s death. William Hinkle, an Eversource spokesman, said the fire was “an isolated, tragic accident” and offered his “sincere condolences” to those affected by Sharrigan’s death. He said Eversource takes the maintenance of its natural gas distribution system “very seriously.”

“We are also disappointed that we were unable to resolve this matter with the family and remain hopeful that we can reach a fair resolution,” Hinkle wrote in an email. “While we strongly dispute the allegations made in the complaint, we will continue to go through the appropriate legal processes to find a resolution based on the facts of this tragic accident.”