Case Study

Case Study: Industrial Accident

R. David Kaufman, a partner in the Litigation Section, successfully represented Honeywell, Inc., a defendant in litigation brought by workers who were injured and the estates of workers who were killed in the largest industrial accident in the history of Mississippi.

In May 2002, an explosion occurred at the Rouse Polymeric rubber recycling facility in Vicksburg, resulting in a number of fatalities and multiple injuries to the workers. A number of lawsuits were brought in Warren County Circuit Court against several defendants, including Honeywell, Inc., seeking millions of dollars in damages for each injured worker and the estates of the workers killed in the accident. Honeywell was named as a defendant because it manufactured certain digital controllers that were located in the area of the plant where the explosion allegedly originated. The digital controllers were recovered from the explosion debris, and testing indicated that they were still functioning as intended after the explosion.

Mr. Kaufman aggressively pursued and obtained summary judgment from the Court on behalf of Honeywell; Honeywell was dismissed only nine months after being joined as a defendant while discovery was in its early stages.

This is the second major explosion case that Mr. Kaufman successfully defended for a Brunini client. Mr. Kaufman previously was lead counsel for Mississippi Chemical Corporation in litigation arising out of the massive explosion of an ammonium nitrate manufacturing facility located in Sioux City, Iowa, the largest identified accident in the history of that state. Mr. Kaufman and his Brunini team not only successfully defended against the claims brought against their client, but they also recovered a multi-million dollar judgment against the manufacturers on Mississippi Chemical’s defamation claim.