Personal Injury Law

Lab explosion injures four people at the University of Missouri

By Ryan Bradley, Esq.

Four people were injured during a lab experiment on the campus of the University of Missouri when an explosion erupted in a lab located in Schweitzer Hall.

According to local media reports, a group of lab technicians were conducting an experiment with bacteria and hydrogen. While the precise cause of the blast is still under investigation, initial impressions of the investigators seem to indicate human error lead to the explosion.

The four people who were injured during the experiment have not yet been identified. All four sustained injuries, but one lab technician in particular, who took the strongest hit from the blast, had severe injuries including burns to the face.

To give you an idea of the power of the explosion, 17 windows in Schweitzer Hall were blown out and an adjacent lab also sustained damage.

From the perspective of a Missouri personal injury attorney, this case presents an interesting question of whether the school could be held liable for an incident like this. Every case is unique and we certainly don't have all the details around this accident, but there have been lawsuits in the past dealing with lab accidents on school campuses.

Basically, a personal injury lawsuit makes the claim that a defendant had a legal duty to the injured party and failed to live up to that duty. As a direct result of that breach of duty, an injury was sustained by the plaintiff. In serious injury cases occurring on school campuses, the biggest question is defining the type of legal duty the school has with regard to their students.

The question of duty changes depending on the age of the students and the school setting. An elementary or high school teacher, for instance, will be held to much stricter standards than a professor working with adult graduate students. Untrained students working with potentially hazardous materials should be under constant supervision, while highly trained students may be reasonably considered as fit to work without such strict observation. These are just a few things to consider and anybody with more specific questions about an injury case should contact an experienced Missouri personal injury lawyer.

Full post as published by Missouri Accident Lawyer Blog on June 29, 2010 (boomark / email).