The National Trial Lawyers
  • Home
    • Meet Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Mission & Goals
    • FAQ
  • Webinars
  • News
  • Membership Directory
    • Top 100 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 100 Map – Criminal Defense
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Criminal Defense
  • Top 100
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 100 President’s Message
    • Diplomat
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 100 Badge
    • Media
  • Top 40
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Bootcamp
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 40 President’s Message
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 40 Badge
    • Media
  • Specialty Assoc
    • About
    • Shop
    • Officers
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Media
  • Nominate
    • Top 100
    • Top 40
    • Specialty Association
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer of the Year
    • Trial Team of the Year
    • America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyer
    • America’s Most Influential Law Firm
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Shop
  • Magazine
    • A-List
  • Education and Networking Agenda
    • Trial Lawyers Summit
      • Summit Sponsors
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Boot Camp
    • Mass Torts Made Perfect
    • The Lanier Master Class 5.0 Trial Academy 2021
    • Webinars
  • Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame

Man Burned by Chemical Vapor Explosion Awarded $10M

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Larry Bodine

Crystal Clear VOC concrete sealerA Cook County, Illinois, jury awarded a man $10,875,622 for second and third degree burns he suffered from an explosion in his home caused by the vapors of a concrete sealer he used in his basement.

The plaintiff Andrzej Plizga and his wife Katarzyna were represented by National Trial Lawyer Top 100 attorney Matthew Passen of the Passen Law Group in their lawsuit against the Euclid Chemical Company, manufacturers of the Crystal Clear VOC concrete sealer

Andrzej Plizga was using Crystal Clear VOC concrete sealer to seal the basement floor of his home.  The vapors from the sealer spread to a utility room in the home and were ignited by a water heater pilot light, causing the explosion that burned 65% of Plizga’s body.  The burns, mostly on his arms, legs and torso, required several skin graft surgeries and $1 million in medical expenses.  Also due to his injuries, Plizga is not able to return to his previous work as a brick layer.

Misleading labeling

See also: $19.8M Verdict for Man Immolated in Home Gas Explosion

In the product liability action against Euclid Chemical Company, Plizga concedes that the label on the containers of the sealer label it as “combustible” and contained a substantial amount of cautionary language such as “WARNING! FLAMMABLE” but warnings failed to comply with the Federal Hazardous Substances Act label requirements and state law requirements.

Plizga also asserted that the company’s use of acetone in the sealer formula was wrongful and based on profit gains even though safer alternatives solvents can be used, and are actually used in other products.  Plizga also proved that the warning label did not meet industry standards and did not properly warn consumers that their home’s water heater can possibly ignite liquid vapors, even though chemical manufacturers have substantial knowledge of this hazard.

The manufacturer argued that Plizga’s claim should have been rejected because he assumed the risk of using the product which was labeled “For Professional Use Only.”  It also argued that Plizga ignored warnings to read the Material Safety Data Sheet and product label before use, but Plizga said that he was never given a manual or instructions when he purchased the sealer, according to the Cook County Record.com.

Plizga was awarded $2.7 million for his medical bills and lost wages.  More than $8 million was awarded pain and suffering, loss of normal life, loss of society and disfigurement.

The case is Andrzej Plizga and Katarzyna Plizga  v. The Euclid Chemical Company,  Case No. 10 L 14488 in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.

Posted in Blog, Consumer Protection, National Trial Lawyer Magazine, Personal Injury, Product Liability

Comments are closed.

News Categories

Subscribe to Blog and VFJ via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog, the Voice for Justice and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Read about other Top Jury Verdicts

Toyota Will Pay $180M to Settle Violations of the Clean-Air Act

Toyota Will Pay $180M to Settle Violations of the Clean-Air Act

The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that the United States has[Read More...]
Boeing's Insitu Will Pay $25M to Settle a Whistleblower Complaint About Used Drone Parts

Boeing's Insitu Will Pay $25M to Settle a Whistleblower Complaint About Used Drone Parts

Bingen, Wash.-based Insitu, a Boeing subsidiary, has agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations that it used recycl[Read More...]
Deutsche Bank Agrees to Settle Criminal and Civil Charges for $130M

Deutsche Bank Agrees to Settle Criminal and Civil Charges for $130M

DEUTSCHE Bank AG agreed to pay US$130 million to settle criminal and civil charges that it bribed foreign officials and manip[Read More...]
Boeing Pays $2.5B to Settle Charges Tied to the 737 MAX Crashes

Boeing Pays $2.5B to Settle Charges Tied to the 737 MAX Crashes

Boeing has agreed to pay just over $2.5 billion to resolve a federal charge of “criminal misconduct” for how its [Read More...]
Texas Attorney General Seeks $43M in Google Antitrust Lawsuit

Texas Attorney General Seeks $43M in Google Antitrust Lawsuit

The mass exodus of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's top staff over accusations of bribery against their former boss has le[Read More...]

#LegalNews

@@TheNTLtop100

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Attorney information and content provided on this website is provided for the benefit of members of The National Trial Lawyers and as a public service by Legal Associations Management, Inc. The website and all data are the property of Legal Associations Management, Inc. Data, including without limitation attorney information and content, on the site may not be mined, sold, or used commercially for any purpose without the explicit written consent of Legal Associations Management, Inc. This site may not be accessed by any automated program for extracting data for any use. By accessing and using the site you agree that you will not develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plug-ins and add-ons, or any other technology) to scrape data or otherwise copy profiles and other data. Unauthorized use or attempted unauthorized use of this system may subject you to both civil and criminal penalties.