EDWARDSVILLE – A Fargo, North Dakota man is suing a plant operator and a supervisor after he suffered carbon monoxide poisoning while performing asbestos abatement at a Granite City facility.
Curtis Campbell filed the suit against Walter Pingel of Collinsville and United States Steel Corp. on Feb. 11 in the Madison County Circuit Court over allegations of negligence and vicarious liability.
The suit states on July 26, 2018, Campbell was employed by Thermal Solutions and was working at US Steel's Granite City Steel Works performing asbestos abatement. He alleges he was in a staging tent awaiting results when he lost consciousness after being overcome by carbon monoxide. The suit states it is believed that US Steel employee opened an exhaust valve on a blast-furnace flare stack, which vented into the tent and released carbon monoxide gas.
The plaintiff was taken to St. Louis University Hospital and spent four days in a coma, the suit states, and he continues to suffer detrimental health effects because of the carbon monoxide exposure.
Campbell alleges Pingel, a supervisor in the area where Campbell suffered the exposure, failed to ensure that the blast furnace flair stack was operated safely and allowed the valve to be opened. The plaintiff alleges US Steel failed to exercise ordinary care.
Campbell seeks damages of more than $50,000 and any additional relief the court deems justifiable. He is represented by Brown & Crouppen in St. Louis.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 19-L-191