EXPLOSION
Today,nouanesengsy, 27, of Centerville, still lives with the scars from burns she suffered over 36% of her body, according to a lawsuit filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
On Monday, her trial begins in a Franklin County courtroom as she and her parentsseek damages from Columbia Gas and others,for negligentlycausing her injuries. Retired Judge David Cain will preside over the case.
Nouanesengsy declined an interview, referring all questions to her attorney, David Shroyer.
“Explosions like these are not supposed to happen,” Shroyer said.
Columbia Gassays it is notresponsible for her injuries.
“We are pleased that Ms. Nouanesengsy has recovered from her injuries. Columbia Gas of Ohio doesn’t comment on active litigation; however, we are confident the courts will rule appropriately,” said Eric Hardgrove, manager of communications and community relations for Columbia Gas.
It happened in the fall of 2014, when Nouanesengsy enrolled in Shawnee State University to pursue a master’s degree in occupational therapy. She and three roommates were renting a subdivided house in the 700 block of South 6th Street in downtown Portsmouth.
Nouanesengsyhad graduated in May 2014 from Indiana University, which she attended on a fullathletic scholarship for soccer. She had distinguished herself on the soccer field, starting 79 games, which was third mostin the school’s history. Shewas team captain and earned Midwest regional andsecond team Big Tenhonors her senior year. She was the only player inthe history of women’s soccer at Indiana Universityto ever score three goals in a game on three occasions.
The daughter of immigrants from Laos, Nouanesengsy grew up in the Dayton suburb of Huber Heights and starred on Wayne High School’s soccer team. She was a fouryear starter for the varsity, earning All-state honors for three of those years as she scored 68 career goals andtallied 73 assists. It was the fifth highest total ever recorded among Ohio high school soccer players, the lawsuit says.
But Nouanesengsy was always more than an athlete. During her senior year in high school, she received the Rae Burick Women in Sports Award, which is given to an outstanding woman athlete in themiami Valley whoalsoshows excellence in the classroom and community.
During her college career, Nouanesengsy earned Academic All-big Ten honors. She also was extensively involved with the school’s soccer camp for girls ages 9 to 16 and also did extensive volunteer work in her field of occupational therapy.
Nouanesengsy considered professional soccer with the Chicago Redstars, but decided to proceed with her education at Shawnee State.
Meanwhile, during the spring and summer of 2014, Columbia Gas decided to to replace the main natural gas lines along 6th Street, the lawsuit contends.
The gas company hired a subcontractor, construction company C.J. Hughes, out of nearby Huntington, West Virginia, to check the lines afterward. The inspection failed to detect an uncapped natural gas pipe that led to the room where Nouanesengsy would live, Shroyer said.
As the weather turned cooler, on Oct. 24, 2014, the landlord had a repairman work on the furnace. The repairman unknowingly opened a valve to the pipe that led to Nouanesengsy’s bedroom, filling it with gas, the suit contends.
She had slept later that morning. Unfamiliar with the smell of natural gas, Nouanesengsy thought that it was a stale odor from cooking, so she lighted the candle, the suit says.
After the explosion, Nouanesengsy was rushed to Southern Ohio Medical Center. She was transferred to Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, where she spent nearly six weeks in the burn unit.
She suffered permanent and substantial physical deformity. Shroyer said she had to learn to write in a different way because of injuries to her fingers. The suit says she incurred more than $900,000 in medical expenses and also seeks more than $2 million for lost wages and future medical expenses.
The injuries caused her to withdraw from school, but she returned the next year and obtained her master’s degree in physical therapy from Shawnee State in 2017. She now works as a physical therapist for Dayton Children’s Hospital and volunteers to help those who have suffered burns. She was married in May.
“She’s a real fighter and a real special person,” Shroyer said.