text: Could a shorted component in a parallel circuit cause an open to occur elsewhere?
  Sure, if enough current flows through the short circuit to cause an upstream connector, wire, or component to fail. A fuse could blow, even.
  A short can draw an excessive current, which can damage a component which could lead to all sorts of problems
  Thank you both, cheers!
  2-25-2017 Here is a free course in the basics. This will take a couple of months to work through, and then you will consider questions like this to be obvious. http://www.phy.davidson.edu/instrumentation/NEETS.htm
  Three resistors are connected in a parallel across a 40 V source. The values of the resistors are 620Ω., 750Ω, and 820Ω. What should the total source current be?