CHARLESTON – The wife of a Putnam County man who died in a chemical plant explosion last December has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against his employer and the owners of the facility.
Tina Gillenwater filed her complaint December 8 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Optima Belle LLC, Chemours Company PC LLC, The Chemours Company, Clearon Corp. and 10 unnamed defendants. She filed the complaint individually and as administratrix of her husband’s estate.
The lawsuit was filed exactly one year after the explosion that killed John Mark Gillenwater II, who worked for Optima as a chemical operator at the company’s Belle location. The 723-acre plant that consists of three buildings is owned by Chemours. Clearon contracted with Optima to perform a process to remove water/moisture from chlorinated dry bleach at the plant.
Scott S. Segal
| segal-law.com
According to the complaint, December 8, 2020, was the first time Clearon had supplied CDB to Optima in any form, and it was the first time Optima and its employees had ever performed the CDB drying process.
"The Gillenwater tragedy is a prime example of why when chemical manufacturers try something for the first time, it's all hands on deck," attorney Scott Segal, one of the attorneys representing the estate, told The West Virginia Record.
The 23-page complaint – filed by Segal, Jason P. Foster and C. Edward Amos II of The Segal Law Firm in Charleston – explains the CDB Drying Process in step-by-step detail. It also says none of the defendant companies reported their use, handling or processing of CDB to the West Virginia Emergency Management Division as required by law.
According to the complaint, Gillenwater started his shift around 5:30 p.m. It says the dryer “had trouble keeping the temperatures at the proper level to dry the CDB.”
By 9:30 p.m., the complaint says Jim Fannel, who was Optima’s chemical engineer on duty, had decided to stop the dryer’s rotation and shut off the steam because of abnormalities his team was seeing.
“Just before 10:02 p.m., Mr. Gillenwater was walking toward the dryer,” the complaint states. “At approximately 10:02 p.m., the vent pipe connected to the dryer began to shake and then exploded. Almost immediately thereafter, the dryer violently and catastrophically exploded.
“The blast from the explosion was so great that it blew Mr. Gillenwater from the inside of the building to the outside of the building, and the building was destroyed.”
The explosion also blew debris across the adjacent Kanawha River and shook neighboring structures. A shelter in place was issued as well, and an ambulance was dispatched to the plant.
Gillenwater survived the explosion and remained conscious. He was carried to a decontamination shower before being transported to Charleston Area Medical Center’s General Division Emergency Room. On the way there, he said he could not breathe.
“He was suffocating and began to wave his arms wildly,” the complaint states. “Mr. Gillenwater was intubated in the ambulance during the transport to CAMC.”
When the family heard about the explosion, they began calling Optima for information. The complaint says an Optima representative named Doug told them he had heard about the explosion but had no other information. The family also tried to call Gillenwater’s cell phone, but those calls went to voicemail.
Just after midnight, Doug from Optima told the family Gillenwater was alive and taken to a hospital with a broken leg. The complaint says Doug also told Gillenwater’s medical providers that he only suffered a burn to the lower leg.
At 12:45 a.m., a CAMC social worker called Tina Gillenwater to tell her Gillenwater was alive but that she could not provide any other information. About 15 minutes later, an ER doctor called to tell her Gillenwater had multiple injuries, his heart was weak and that he was not expected to survive.
The family immediately headed to CAMC. But minutes later, Tina Gillenwater received a call from the same doctor saying Gillenwater had died.
The U.S. Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated the incident and cited Optima for two serious violations. In addition, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board still is investigating the incident.
The complaint accuses Optima of deliberate intent, Chemours of negligence, Clearon of negligence and the John Doe defendants of strict liability, negligence and breach of warranty.
Tina Gillenwater seeks joint and several damages for her husband’s medical and hospital bills for treatment received and for his conscious pain and suffering. She also seeks damages for the estate’s sorrow, mental anguish, loss of solace, society, companionship, comfort, guidance, kindly offices and advice of decedent as well as the reasonably expected loss of his income, services, protection, care and assistance.
The complaint also lists damages of temporary and permanent psychological injuries, severe and significant emotional distress, temporary and permanent mental pain and suffering, fear, humiliation, embarrassment, annoyance, inconvenience, loss of physical health and well-being, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of income and/or earning capacity including loss of services and earnings, loss of value of employment benefits include pension and retirement, loss of homemaker services, loss of consortium.
The estate also seeks civil penalties, attorney fees, court costs, pre- and post-judgment interest, other compensatory damages, punitive damages, exemplary damages and other relief.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 21-C-1105