does he have a case or not ?

[vidcc]

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia (AP) -- A man who says he was severely burned when a portable toilet exploded after he sat down and lit a cigarette is suing a general contractor and a coal company, accusing them of negligence.

John Jenkins, 53, and his wife, Ramona Jenkins, 35, of Brave, Pennsylvania, filed the suite Tuesday in county circuit court seeking $10 million in damages from Chisler Inc. and Eastern Associated Coal Corp.

The lawsuit claims Jenkins' face, neck, arms, torso and legs were severely burned last July after the cigarette ignited methane gas leaking from a pipe underneath the toilet unit.

"When I struck the lighter, the whole thing just detonated -- the whole top blew off," said Jenkins, a methane power plant operator with North West Fuels Development Inc. "I can't tell you if it blew me out the door or if I jumped out."

Eastern Associated owns the Blacksville property where the explosion occurred. Jenkins alleges that heavy equipment from Chisler Inc. ran over the pipelines before the explosion, causing the methane gas leak.

A call to the Charleston office of Peabody Energy, the parent company of Eastern Associated Coal, was not returned.

A man who answered the phone at Chisler's office in Fairview said the company would have no comment.

story

Do you think he has a case?

[Guillaume]

No. The guy works in a methane power plant. He knows the smell of methane and should have smelled it in such an enclosed place as the crapper before lighting up.


Hell, he should be fined for smoking on the crapper when there were probably people waiting in front of the door to use it.

[GepperRankins]

i presume smoking isn't allowed so he should STFU

[vidcc]

No. The guy works in a methane power plant. He knows the smell of methane and should have smelled it in such an enclosed place as the crapper before lighting up.

Methane is odourless unless a chemical is added...however your point is valid.

i wonder if the company has a smoking policy.

[vidcc]

I found this as i remember something from mythbusters they claim myth busted

could cnn have a dud?

[GepperRankins]

the heat generated from a fag end may not be enough, but a lighter may be

[Smith]

Woha, thats crazy, they did something like that on myth busters, but they said its not possible.

Guess it is.

[maebach]

its stupiditty. common sense was clearly not included in his decision to smoke.

[DarthInsinuate]

i think people have won cases for less, for example a fat lady injuring herself by sitting on a chair which couldn't bear her weight

[Wallace_Askew]

Then there is the case where the woman won like a million bucks cuz she burned herself mcdonalds coffee.