Catastrophic Workplace Injury - Burn Injury

Burn Injury Attorneys Secure Compensation for Woman Burned Over 85% of Body In Natural Gas Well Fire

In 2002, Brower Oil & Gas Co., Inc. successfully drilled the oil and gas well known as Kirby Draw 1-4.  Brower hired Derek Kelley to work as a pumper—a person that performs routine maintenance at a well site.   In November, 2002, L&L Production Services, Inc. installed a wooden building over the dehydration unit (dehy) at Kirby Draw 1-4, which fully enclosed the flame arrestor and fire tube.  In 2005, NATCO was hired by Brower to perform various maintenance work on the unit.  As the experts in Dehy design and maintenance, NATCO was involved for the next two years working inside the Building, placed over the Dehy by L&L. 

On June 26, 2007, the dehy unit caught fire while Shannon Kelley was in the building.  Shannon was trapped inside and had to pass through flames to reach the only exit door to safety.  Shannon made it out of the building alive and managed to get a call out to 911. Shannon was taken by air transport from Riverton, Wyoming to Denver, Colorado with an 85% full thickness total body surface area burn.  Shannon had a 122% chance of dying when she reached the University of Colorado Burn Center.   She was kept in a drug induced coma for more than six months with continued sedation for another two months, underwent 49 surgical procedures.  As a result, Shannon incurred almost $6 million in past medical expenses.  She is dependent upon others for her most basic human needs—  preparing food, walking, eating, getting dressed, and going to the bathroom.  Shannon’s treating doctors at the University of Colorado anticipated that she would need between $8,000,000 and $11,500,000 in future health care as a result of the fire.

The burn injury attorneys at Fineberg Gresham thoroughly reviewed Mrs. Kelley’s case, and identified several counts of negligence on the part of both L&L and Brower.  L&L created a "permit required confined space" by placing the building over the dehy as it had limited entry and exit, had the potential for a hazardous atmosphere, and was not intended for continuous work.  According to OSHA, "permit required confined spaces" pose an extreme risk that the occupant can be suffocated by a toxic substance or engulfed in flames.   

When servicing the Dehy, NATCO did recognize the Building as a serious safety hazard and recognized that the Building had the potential to: (1) engulf (2) asphyxiate and/or (3) trap an entrant. Notably, NATCO recognized the extremely dangerous nature of the Building on its first visit to the well site and knew it was a ticking time-bomb, but did nothing to correct the problem or warn anyone of the latent danger.  NATCO knew of the extreme danger posed by the building and never informed Brower or Shannon.  During deposition, NATCO indicated it was not a question of “if” someone got hurt, just a question of when.

Fineberg Gresham's burn injury attorneys used all available resource, from family interviews and depositions to animations to document the sequence of events that were responsible for the accident, and prove negligence on the part of Brower and L&L.  They succinctly presented Shannon's case and secured a favorable settlement to help compensate the Kelleys for damages incurred because of the accident.  If these parties had followed safety procedures, Shannon would not have had to suffer

If you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic burn injury, contact the burn injury attorneys at Fineberg Gresham for a free consultation.  There is no risk to you as no fees are charged unless we recover money for you.

Burn Injury from Workplace Accident Videos

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Part 3