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SALT LAKE CITY -- Some of the 12 individuals injured in a pipe accident earlier this month at the University of Utah have contacted attorneys about seeking damages for the injuries they suffered.
Attorneys Melodie Summers and Benjamin Larsen, both of the Summers Law Office, said Tuesday that both individuals and their family members have approached the law firm about representing them in relation to the incident.
Summers declined to say exactly how many they are representing, as they are still communicating with others. She confirmed that they have more than one client.
Twelve people were sent to the hospital on Nov. 1 after being scalded while working on a pipeline at the U. The pipe involved had been closed since July 2009 and crews were working to insulate an open-ended portion of the pipe when some sort of glitch caused 380-degree water and steam to flow through the pipe. Many of those injured suffered severe burns and three critically injured.
"Our clients have come to us because they want to know who caused the explosion and all of them are very seriously injured," Summers said. "Some are still in intensive care. One of them just came out of a coma. They're seeking compensation from whoever caused the accident."
The attorneys claim their clients can't sleep, have panic attacks and also inhaled chemicals into their lungs during the accident.
Summers said her clients — who are Spanish-speaking men from South America — had difficulty escaping at the time of the steam burst. She said they told her they had only a single ladder in a 4-foot by 4-foot opening to escape from.
"They didn't know how to get out of there," Summers said. "They were down there long enough to inhale not only steam but also chemicals."
The attorneys said they have received medical reports that confirm all of her clients inhaled chemicals into their lungs. She said they were also exhibiting symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and had all been referred to psychologists by the doctors that treated them in the hospital.
"They can't sleep," she said, noting that she was only recounting what she had been told by her clients. "They're having nightmares. They see themselves in the tunnel again and are having panic attacks."
Summers said her office is waiting on the results of an investigation currently being conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration before formally filing the lawsuit. She said she is "hopeful they will be done in the near future."
Larsen said until the men are totally treated and the OSHA investigation is complete, it will be difficult to assess the extent of the damage that has been done to the men involved.
"When treatment isn't completed, we don't feel like they've been diagnosed with the real problems they're facing," he said. "We don't know if they've breathed in toxic chemicals that could cause cancer in 10 years.
Until the investigation, we don't know. The OSHA investigation will be critical."
Eldon Tryon, compliance manager for Utah OSHA, said the investigation is still active and ongoing and that progress is being made, but there is no estimate they could give for when the investigation would be complete.
"We've completed a lot of interviews and we've gotten a lot of information," he said. "We're gong to discuss it and decide where to go from there."
E-mail: emorgan@desnews.com
