Trial Magazine

Steve Crow, 53, was employed by a timber company and worked most of the time at the company’s truck yard. The yard was located next to a pulp mill, which was operated by a different company.

One day, while Crow was standing in the yard with several coworkers, a tanker operated by James J. Williams Bulk Haul Transport was delivering liquid aqua ammonia to the mill. The tanker driver hooked a compressed air hose to the tanker’s trailer to pressurize it, pushing the aqua ammonia out of the bottom, where it ran through a pipe and into the mill’s storage tank.

After the transfer, the trailer remained pressurized at 18 psi and contained residual aqua ammonia and ammonia gas. The driver was supposed to vent the remaining pressure and gas through a filter system known as a scrubber. Instead, he vented pressure and gas into the atmosphere as he drove away.

When the gas reached Crow and his coworkers, they began coughing violently. Unaware of the source, Crow’s coworkers ran into the building, while Crow jumped into his truck. The engine was running, and the air conditioning was on. Crow attempted to drive away from the source of the gas, but he unknowingly drove toward the area where the tanker was venting the gas. As his truck’s air conditioner drew additional gas into the cab, his eyes, nose, and throat began burning, and he became unable to breathe.

Crow was later diagnosed with burns and scarring to his corneas, as well as airway damage resulting in reactive airway disease. The disease was treated with prescription corticosteroid inhalers. Crow also developed severe ­post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Within six months of the incident, he developed suicidal thoughts and was admitted to a hospital’s psychiatric ward. He continues to suffer from breathing difficulties, coughing fits, and PTSD symptoms, and he is permanently disabled.

Crow’s past medical expenses totaled approximately $193,600, and his future life care plan is estimated at approximately $930,900. He incurred approximately $194,000 in past lost earnings, and his future lost earnings are estimated at $369,400.

Crow and his wife sued the trucking company and the pulp mill, alleging negligence and strict liability for an unreasonably dangerous activity.

During discovery, the tanker truck driver admitted that he had vented ammonia gas directly into the atmosphere in violation of the proper procedure, but he argued that only 5 psi of pressure remained at the time. The driver also claimed that a pulp mill employee had granted him permission to vent the gas directly to the atmosphere, which the pulp mill denied.

The plaintiffs settled with the pulp mill during pretrial mediation, and the case went to trial against the trucking company and its driver.

The timing of the alleged gas release and exposure was a central issue at trial. Crow and his coworkers could not recall the time of day they were exposed, but the driver reportedly admitted venting the gas between 1:20 p.m. and 1:40 p.m.

The defendants argued that because the gas would not have remained in the air for longer than one hour, if Crow were exposed at 3 p.m. or later, any gas would have dissipated. The defendants argued that an investigation report by Crow’s employer stated that the gas exposure occurred at 3 p.m.; that a supervisor who filled out the workers’ compensation information form, later signed by Crow and another worker who sought treatment, listed 3:45 p.m. as the time of exposure; and that various witnesses had testified that the exposure had occurred toward the end of the work day.

The plaintiffs countered that because the driver had admitted to venting the gas between 1:20 p.m. and 1:40 p.m., because there was no doubt the gas exposure occurred, because there were no other gas or chemical deliveries to that area of the mill that day, and because the gas would have been present for less than one hour, common sense dictated that the exposure must have occurred prior to 2 p.m.

The jury awarded $6.49 million, including $3.12 million in noneconomic damages for Crow’s past and future pain and suffering, $1.56 million to his wife for loss of consortium, $1.3 million for future economic damages, $400,000 for past economic damages, and $110,000 to three of the couple’s minor children for damage to the parent-child relationship.

The trial court denied the defendants’ posttrial motions, and the defendants reportedly intend to appeal.

Citation: Crow v. Trans-Sys., Inc., No. 3:15-cv-05665 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 8, 2017).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Michael J. Fisher and Daniel R. Kyler, and Tamara Clower, all of Tacoma, Wash.

Plaintiff experts: V. Paul Herbert, commercial motor vehicle/hazmat operations, Quincy, Calif.; Jordan Firestone, neurotoxicology, Moffett Field, Calif.; Jeffrey Hart, psychiatry, Federal Way, Wash.; Monty Meier, psychology, Aberdeen, Wash.; and Cloie Johnson, life care planning, Bothell, Wash.

Defense expert: Stephanie Carter, industrial hygiene, Redmond, Wash.