Worker Injured in Plant Blast Gets $13.7 Million

Posen man was burned over 50% of his body in ‘98.

A worker severely burned in 1998 when coal dust ignited at a lakefront power plant on the Illinois-Indiana border has won a $13.7 million settlement from the plant’s operator and other companies, his attorneys said Thursday.

The settlement comes after years of wrangling over whether the personal injury lawsuit filed by Paul Danielson of south suburban Posen should be head in Illinois or Indiana, according to attorneys in the case.

The issue went to the Illinois Supreme Court, which upheld efforts by Danielson – who still hasn’t been able to return to work – to have the civil case heard in Illinois.

Mediation in Illinois produced the settlement, which was approved Tuesday by a federal bankruptcy judge in Texas, where one of the companies named as a defendant has its headquarters, according to attorneys at the Clifford Law Offices, which represented Danielson.

Power plant dust ignited

Danielson, 36, was part of a cleaning crew hired to vacuum coal dust that has accumulated at the State Line Energy Co. generating station.

Danielson and others were working there on July 28, 1998, when the volatile dust ignited, touching off a massive explosion and fireball.

The blast injured 17 workers, including Danielson, who was burned over 50 percent of his body, said on of his attorneys, Michael Krzak. He spent more than four months in the hospital, underwent more than two dozen surgeries and is permanently scarred, Krzak said.

Danielson’s personal injury lawsuit contended that the plant owner had negligently allowed the coal dust to accumulate to dangerous levels and hadn’t warned workers of the risk.

"There was an excessive amount of coal dust," Krzak said, adding that an electrical spark caused by a conveyor belt starting up apparently triggered the fire.

Jurisdiction became an issue because the plant is in Indiana, but so close to the border that workers had to go into Illinois to reach an entrance, Krzak said.

Cross-border battle

Danielson lived in Indiana at the time of the fire, but he was an Illinois native and wanted the case heard here, Krzak said.

"We wanted to make sure if anyone decided the case, it would be heard by Illinois residents," Krzak said.

An attorney who represented Southern Co. of Atlanta had little to say about the settlement, except to note that the fire occurred in Indiana, involved an Indiana company and that the blast had been investigated by officials from that state.

"It was protracted litigation, it was hard-fought, and now it’s settled," said attorney David Jensen, whose firm represented Southern Co., which had purchased the power plant from ComEd less than a year before the fire.

Danielson couldn’t be reached for comment on Thursday, but Krzak said Danielson is still dealing with the effects of his injuries.

He has tried to work but hasn’t been physically able to do the type of manual labor he did before he was burned, Krzak said.

"He’s a man who really wants to get to living his live," Krzak said.