Personal Injury Law

Chemical plant explosions seriously injures man in St. Charles

By Ryan Bradley, Esq.

Photo from STLToday.com

A worker at the SantoLubes plant in St. Charles, Missouri was seriously injured and covered in burns after an explosion late Sunday night in one of the chemical plant?s buildings.

According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Robert Exner, 57, was mixing chemicals in a large tank when it exploded around 10 p.m. Fortunately, company officials speculate that Exner may have been walking away from the tank when it exploded which saved him from more serious injury or even death.

As it was, Exner was burned over 30 percent of his body and taken to St. John?s Mercy Medical Center in serious condition. An unidentified paramedic also suffered minor injuries in responding to the explosion.

The blast delivered massive damage to the chemical plant and started a fire that destroyed many of the chemicals inside.

Investigators are still looking into the cause of the explosion. Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be on site to try and determine what exactly happened and if the explosion could have been prevented.

Since it is so early in the investigation, it is not yet known if negligence on the part of the chemical company or Exner himself caused the injury accident. Should a workers compensation claim be filed in this case, however, Exner will not have to prove negligence on the part of his employer. Under Missouri workers compensation law, all you have to do is prove that you sustained an injury at work and that the nature of the work was the prevailing factor in the injury. A St. Louis area personal injury attorney may be called in to help facilitate the claim, should one be filed.

Full post as published by Missouri Accident Lawyer Blog on April 13, 2009 (boomark / email).