Pennsylvania Personal Injury Blog

On February 7, 2010, an explosion at the Kleen Energy Systems in Connecticut blew out the walls of an unfinished power plant and set off a fire during a test of natural gas lines. According to an article on Philly.com, the explosion killed at least five workers and injured a dozen or more.

The cause of the gas explosion was unknown and is under investigation. It left huge pieces of metal that once encased the plant peeling off its sides. A large swath of the structure was blackened and surrounded by debris, but the building, its roof and its two smokestacks were still standing.

The article said that 50 to 60 people were in the area at the time of the explosion, and multiple contractors were working on the project.

Workers for the construction company, O&G Industries, were purging the gas line when the explosion occurred.

At least a dozen people had injuries ranging from minor to very serious.

Safety board investigators have done extensive work on the issue of gas line purging since an explosion last year at a Slim Jim factory in North Carolina killed four people. They’ve identified other explosions caused by workers who were unsafely venting gas lines inside buildings.

The workers here who sustained any injuries and the families of the workers who died because of the explosion are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits through the employer. These benefits often are inadequate and may not be enough to cover a worker and his family, especially if the incident involves serious injuries that could keep the worker away from his/her job for a long time. It may be in the worker’s best interest, however, to also contact an experienced worker’s compensation attorney who can carefully examine the incident to identify any negligence or wrongdoing.

Continue reading "Gas Blast at Connecticut Power Plant Kills at Least 5" »

On December 18, a federal jury Friday awarded more than $100 million to 10 workers who claimed they were injured in 2007 when a toxic substance was released at BP PLC’s Texas City plant.

According to an article by the Associated Press, the jurors in Galveston, TX gave each contract worker $10 million in punitive damages. Nine of the workers were also awarded between $5,000 and $10,000 for pain and suffering and medical expenses, while the 10th got more than $240,000.

BP denied it had harmed any of the workers. They also rejected a proposal to settle for $10,000 for each worker.

The refinery was the site of a 2005 explosion that killed 15 people and injured 170, the worst U.S. industrial accident since 1990.

The refinery has a history of fires, chemical releases, and worker deaths.

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board found that bad management at the plant and cost-cutting moves by BP were factors in the explosion.

In October, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration imposed a record $87 million fine against BP for failing to correct safety hazards after the 2005 blast.

The workers’ lawsuit claimed that in April 2007, more than 100 contract employees at the plant were sent to hospitals after claiming they were exposed to a toxic substance released at the refinery.

Continue reading "Jury Awards BP Workers $100 Million in Lawsuit" »

The Ford Motor Co. has settled a lawsuit filed by residents of a northern New Jersey town over toxic waste dumped there nearly 40 years ago. According to an article, the settlement was announced in state Superior Court. The residents of Ringwood, about 25 miles northeast of New York City, will receive about $10 million.

An attorney for the Plaintiffs alleged that they had been injured by exposure to toxic chemicals at the Ringwood landfill site. After more than three years of litigation, the parties have entered into a settlement that will resolve all the claims in the litigation.

Under terms of the settlement, Ford and two other defendants, URS Corp. and Arrow Group Industries, admitted no liability for the residents’ claims of health problems caused by the waste.

The article stated that during the 1960s and 1970s, contractors hired by Ford dumped thousands of tons of paint sludge and heavy metals from a car manufacturing plant in nearby Mahwah into landfills, open pits and an abandoned mine that dates back to the 18th century.
The Ringwood site was placed on the federal Superfund list, a ranking of the country’s worst environmental dump sites, in 1983.

Large amounts of hardened paint sludge and other waste were discovered. A joint federal-state report released that year found the site contained potentially unsafe levels of metals and chemicals.

Residents blamed the toxins for serious illnesses including certain cancers and skin diseases, and about 700 of them joined a lawsuit in 2006.

Continue reading "NJ Toxic Waste Exposure Lawsuit Settled by Ford" »

About 5,000 people in northeastern Pennsylvania were evacuated on March 21 after a tanker truck carrying more than 16 tons of hydrofluoric acid overturned near Wind Gap, PA. According to this article in the Delaware County Times, hazardous material teams managed to stop the slowly dripping liquid.

Hydrofluoric acid in low doses can irritate the eyes, nose, and respiratory tract. Inhalation can be fatal and those who have suffered similar injuries would be advised to contact a skilled Pennsylvania environmental toxins attorney after seeking medical treatment.

The driver was treated for injuries and released.

Anyone who may have suffered a serious injury due to the chemical spill would be well advised to speak to Philadelphia's top personal injury attorneys. When someone is determined to be legally responsible for injuring someone else, they are liable for the injury, and may be made to pay the injured person compensatory damages.

Continue reading "Pennsylvania Chemical Spill Results in Evacuation of 5,000 People" »