Pennsylvania Injury Lawyer Blog

An industrial explosion at the ConAgra Foods Plant in Garner, North Carolina that killed two workers and injured many others in June is still an incident that has many industrial workers concerned over the safety of their future. A wral.com report stated that approximately 300 workers were in the plant at the time of the explosion, many of whom were exposed to toxic fumes released from ammonia leaks. Thirty-eight individuals had to be transported to local hospitals for serious injuries resulting from the explosion, and three firefighters suffered from ammonia inhalation.

According to the article, district chief for Wake County EMS stated, "It's not just a matter of fire or any chemical exposure, but certainly with the structure collapse, there's the issue of the safety of going in." In any explosion, structure integrity is always a serious issue, but it is not the only concern that involved workers have to deal with. Exposure to toxic substances in the workplace can have long-lasting effects on a person’s well-being, putting an individual who has come in dangerous contact with an environmental toxin at risk of organ damage, cancer, severe burns, and many other calamities.

Fortunately in this incident, the ammonia toxic fumes were contained enough that the surrounding community was not threatened. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials kept a close watch over the air quality near the plant soon after the explosion to ensure that the toxic chemicals did not endanger people in the surrounding areas.

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Pennsylvania-based Blair LLC., along with U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, is recalling about 162,000 women's chenille robes after reports that several women died and many others suffered burn injuries as a result of the robes catching fire. According to this Associated Press news report, at least six women are believed to have died due to the Pennsylvania flammable products. In five out of six cases, the victims were women who were cooking at the time. CPSC officials are asking that consumers stop using these robes immediately.

The robes, made in Pakistan, have the following item numbers: 3093111, 3093112, 3093113, 3093114, 3093115, and 3093116. The robes were apparently sold in Blair catalogs, on the company's Web site as well as in Blair stores in Warren and Grove City, Pennsylvania from January 2003 through March 2009. Consumers may return these defective robes to Blair and receive a refund or a $50 gift card.

Burn injuries in Philadelphia can be serious and often life-threatening. In order to prevent these tragic events and to hold those accountable for the injuries responsible, it is important to understand what causes burn injuries. Burns can be caused by many different products, including defective clothing. Burn injuries are also costly.

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