In Heirs v. National Food Retailer (LA Co. Sup. Ct.), Spencer J. Pahlke, Douglas S. Saeltzer, and Martin P. Neira obtained a $7,250,000 settlement for the children of a worker who was killed in an industrial explosion after pressurized containers failed and ignited, causing fatal trauma. Defendants argued that the decedent’s employer’s conduct was the source of the incident. Our attorneys retained leading engineering and gas safety experts to reconstruct the explosion and establish the defective cylinders as the root cause, avoiding workers’ compensation immunity and employer fault defenses. The settlement was divided equally among the three surviving children.
