Case Studies: Escaped Gas Case
The Plaintiff was an elderly woman who lived alone in a modest single-family home that was heated by space heaters. The space heaters were the kind that did not have safety shut off valves. The result was that if the gas was turned on, but the fire was out, the gas would continue to flow out of the space heater.
It was wintertime and the local gas company had to make some repairs on their main line. Without informing the Plaintiff, at approximately 5:00 in the morning, they shut off her gas for a brief period of time, made their repairs and then turned the gas back on. The result was the space heaters which had been on heating the house were shut off and then turned back on without any flame. As the Plaintiff slept, she inhaled quantities of unburned gas.
Natural gas does not have a significant odor onto itself and, as a result, must be "odorized" with a very powerful chemical called "mercaptin." An investigation showed that the gas company had exceeded the normal quantities of mercaptin by a factor of more than 400. The result was that the levels of mercaptin were toxic causing the Plaintiff develop traumatic asthma, a permanent condition.
The Law Offices of Peter A. Miller represented the Plaintiff in Court in Pine Bluff against the gas company and the subcontractor who had been hired to the repairs. A jury awarded the Plaintiff a significant sum of money against the subcontractor, finding them guilty of negligence.