Lawsuit: ‘Dangerous activities’ to blame for 2019 plant explosion
STAMFORD — Two workers claim the “abnormally dangerous activities” they were asked to perform in their roles at a Water Pollution Control facility directly contributed to a 2019 explosion that left them with “serious and painful injuries,” according to a lawsuit.
Robert Zeug and Conrado Gonzalez are accusing Synagro-Connecticut LLC, a company contracted with the city to operate and manage a city-owned thermal
drying facility in Stamford’s East Side, of recklessness, negligence and conducting “ultrahazardous activity” in the lawsuit filed in state Superior Court.
Zeug, a Synagro subcontractor, and Gonzalez, a Stamford Water Pollution Control Authority employee, were within 100 feet of an explosion at the water facility that rocked the East Side of Stamford back in August 2019, their attorney Michael Skiber said.
Skiber said his clients suffered traumatic brain injuries, tinnitus, post-traumatic stress disorder and more in the explosion. And, he says, it could have been worse.
“They could have been blown to bits,” Skiber said.
The lawsuit claims that Synagro and the city put employees and neighboring communities at “a high degree of risk of serious harm” with the “ultrahazardous activity” conducted at the plant.
Representatives of Synagro did not respond to a request for comment.
In a motion to strike key components of the lawsuit, dated April 20, Synagro claimed the plaintiffs “fail to set forth a viable claim” for the accusations that the company engaged in recklessness or ultrahazardous activities.
“The allegations are conclusory and do not contemplate any supporting facts that a finder of fact could assess as demonstrative of a reckless state of mind,” the motion says. “Indeed, there is not one single factual allegation in the plaintiffs’ complaint to serve as a factual precedent to invoke as support for the assertion that defendant’s conduct even posed a high degree danger to the plaintiffs.”
On Aug. 1, 2019, around 10:46 p.m., employees turned off a fan to make a repair, according to the city. When it was powered back up, the explosion occurred, fire officials said at the time.
A plant manager told firefighters burning embers “most likely caused” the ignition of dust in the machine, leading to the explosion, according to a fire marshal report.
The suit further alleges Synagro was aware of potential issues because of a self-audit conducted by Lewellyn Technology in 2018, but it failed to address and/or remediate the concerns raised.
Skiber said his clients “demand and deserve full justice” for the suffering they endured because of this alleged negligence.
“We feel that when you conduct this type of activity and produce this type of combustible dust that there is a special responsibility for the caretakers of the plant to use extreme caution to protect the citizens of the city of Stamford and the surrounding area,” he said.
Zeug and Gonzalez are seeking an unstated amount of at least $15,000 as a part of the suit.
Synagro has been contracted with the city to operate and manage the city-owned thermal drying facility located at 111 Harborview Ave. since 2005, when the company was hired to install and oversee the sewage treatment plant’s three-story sludge dryer.
In 2011, the city considered cutting ties with Synagro and shutting down the expensive facility, which dries and pelletizes biosolids from the 19 million gallons of wastewater the treatment plant receives on average each day.
Ultimately, the city renewed its contract, and the two parties remain under contract to this day.
The lawsuit also names Stamford as a defendant in the case. It accuses the city of negligence as to Gonzalez, a city employee, saying city officials failed to “timely” investigate and remediate potential issues at the facility.
Stamford Corporation Counsel Kathryn Emmett declined to comment on the pending litigation.
But in a motion dated April 22, city attorneys asked the court to throw out Gonzalez’s allegations of negligence against Stamford. Compensation for Gonzalez’s injuries, they argue, is an issue to be remedied by the Worker’s Compensation Act — not the city — since Gonzalez, a city employee, was on the job at the time of the explosion.
The only possible exception, the city argues in its motion, is if the city intended to injure Gonzalez, or intentionally created a dangerous situation for him, but city attorneys argue that Gonzales has “failed to establish” that this exception applies.
“Gonzalez will not be able to prove that his employer knew that by sending Gonzalez to check on the status of the fan repair would result, with substantial certainty, in Gonzalez suffering the various cerebral, soft-tissue, shoulder, and nasal injuries that he ended up suffering as a result of the explosion,” the motion said.
The city also has its own pending litigation against Synagro for its role in the explosion.
In its lawsuit, the city claims Synagro violated the terms of its contract “by failing follow proper operating procedures” when it did not check oxygen levels or inspect water processing equipment prior to the explosion.
Stamford officials estimate the city suffered $10 million in “property and business interruption damages,” according to its pending lawsuit.
Synagro has denied any wrongdoing in that case, and has asserted counterclaims against thecCity for breach of contract and negligence. The case is currently in discovery.
Earlier in April, Synagro asked the court to merge the lawsuits being brought by the city and the two workers. That motion is pending.