Updated 12/21/18 An explosion at the Markwest Energy natural gas processing plant in Washington, PA on December 14, 2018, injured four people. All four were airlifted to nearby hospitals for treatment of burns and other explosion injuries. One of them Jeffrey Fisher, 61, of Salem, West Virginia died days later from his injuries.
“When a tragedy like this happens, families need answers. That’s why we do independent investigations in all of our explosion cases,” said Fred Pritzker, an explosion attorney with the national law firm Pritzker Hageman. He and Eric Hageman, the firm’s lead attorneys for these cases, represent clients who have been injured in explosions and families who have suffered the wrongful death of a loved one. Recently, they obtained a $40 million settlement for a client who was severely burned in a gas explosion. To request a free consultation with them, use this online contact form or call toll-free at 1 (888) 377-8900.
MarkWest gathers and transports crude oil; transports and stores chemicals used in fracking; and gathers, processes and transports natural gas. The explosion at its facility, located at 800 Western Ave., occurred around 6:00 p.m. on December 13, 2018, and involved a chemical used in natural gas processing.
Eight fire departments responded to the call. They worked in conjunction with teams from Washington County Hazardous Materials and the state Department of Environmental Protection to extinguish the fire that followed the blast and monitor the scene for hazards.
All four of the injured are MarkWest employees. Two of them were airlifted to West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh. And two were airlifted to UPMC Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh.
“Burns are the most common injury we see with our explosion cases,” said Pritzker. “Recovery from these excruciating injuries is a long process.”
An investigation is ongoing.
