The Texas town devastated by an April fertilizer plant explosion is suing the company that supplied the plant with ammonium nitrate, arguing the supplier sold the volatile compound “blindly” to a firm that didn’t handle it properly. 15 people were killed, more than 160 were injured and more than 150 buildings were damaged or destroyed including two schools and a nursing home. The explosion devastated West, a town of about 2,800 people south of Dallas. The explosion could be felt 50 miles away.
The city of West, Texas, accuses Adair Grain, which operated as the West Fertilizer Company, of negligently storing ammonium nitrate on its grounds before the April 17 blast. It also accused Illinois-based CF Industries of selling West Fertilizer about 200 tons of the compound without investigating whether the plant could store it safely.
“The CF Industries defendants, in the best position to know and understand the full nature of the dangers of the product manufactured by them, made no effort to determine the risk to the community into which their product was shipped,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, they blindly sold hundreds of tons of hazardous ammonium nitrate to West Fertilizer Company and delivered it to a facility located within a community of people, houses, parks, schools and a nursing home.” The suit also argues that CF Industries provided outdated safety information to West Fertilizer and failed to include additives that would have prevented a detonation
By Michael W. McGuckin, Esquire, Attorney for the Reading, Pennsylvania Personal Injury Law Firm of Liever, Hyman & Potter, P. C. which limits their practice to medical malpractice, car, truck and motorcycle accidents, wrongful death cases, premises liability, nursing home neglect, and work injuries. Serving Berks, Schuylkill and surrounding counties for over 50 years.