Arlington Heights Explosion Kills One, Injures Ten

An explosion in an Arlington Heights manufacturing plant cost one man his life and injured ten others, including three police officers, reports CBS 2 Chicago.
The explosion happened just after 8 a.m. in the Arens Controls Company plant, which manufactures push-pull shift and throttle controls for vehicles.
Though no official cause of the explosion has been determined, witnesses stated that the explosion may have been caused by a chemical reaction gone bad.
The chemical involved was potassium hydroxide (KOH), which according to CBS is highly reactive towards acids and highly corrosive.
It can cause an emission of flammable hydrogen gas if it reacts with certain metals. The explosion ripped off part of the roof.
Though it may be difficult to prove that someone was negligent in how they handled the chemicals, especially after the explosion destroyed the rear of the factory, there is a negligence theory that could be applicable.
Res ipsa loquitor is a negligence theory that means "the thing speaks for itself." It is usually used where the negligence obvious and no accident could have occurred absent negligence.
An example is a barrel rolling out of a second story window and crushing someone, like Mario versus Donkey Kong.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
A different, and more realistic example would be a defectively produced glass bottle that explodes and disfigures someone after being delivered directly from the factory.
Though it may be difficult to prove that the bottle was defective or that it was shipped incorrectly, someone employed by the factory must have been negligent at some point in order to cause the injury.
The same theory could apply here. Though it may be impossible to prove who in the factory was directly at fault, if some employee hadn't been negligent with chemicals, there arguably would have been no explosion.
Related Resources:

Find a Chicago Personal Injury Attorney (FindLaw)
One dead, 10 injured in Arlington Heights warehouse explosion (Chicago Sun Times)
Ill. High Court Reviewing $ 43M Ford Motor Co. Injury Ruling (FindLaw's Chicago Personal Injury Law Blog)
Vjollca Lecaj Sues McDonald's For Glass In Her Sandwich (FindLaw's Chicago Personal Injury Law Blog)

The Chicago Personal Injury Law Blog

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