Truck Driver Sues After Being Severely Burned at Florida Gas Station
September 30, 2011
A gasoline truck driver who was severely burned in an explosion at a St. Augustine, Florida, gas station on August 19 has sued the property owners.
The explosion occurred while the 61-year-old man, a resident of Fort McCoy, Florida, was filling up the station’s tank with gas at 215 Florida 16. As he worked to add 7,800 gallons of fuel to one tank, it overflowed and caught fire, according to Jacksonville.com.
A horrific explosion erupted, sending the man to the burn center at Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Flames and smoke rose hundreds of feet in the sky, causing some nearby residents to be evacuated from their homes.
The victim alleges that that the gas station didn’t comply with regulations that govern the prevention of accidental spills, instead using a “more antiquated” method of storing gasoline in tanks above the ground. He was also unable to locate a gauge that told him how much gasoline was already inside the tank.
“He is a very high-spirited, exuberant man, but he’s lost the use of both of his arms and is in a great deal of pain and needs 24-hour nursing care,” said the man’s attorney. “Our client’s job was to fill the tank if there was sufficient capacity, and the [property owner’s] job was to provide the necessary means and assurances that there was capacity. They didn’t do their job.”
Have you or someone you know been injured in a Florida accident or injury?
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