2011Jones v. Capitol Finishes, Inc., Norfolk Circuit Court (2011)
Shipyard worker injured when an explosion ripped through a crew head area on the U.S.S. Leyte Gulf while the ship was dry-docked on September 15, 2007, making national news. Defendant was negligently using a cleaner that was extremely flammable and took no precautions for ventilation of the enclosed space, allowing vapors from lacquer thinner to build up. The fumes were ignited by a spark from an electric buffer that the defendant’s employee was using. Jones was diagnosed with a compression fracture at L-1 and chronic low back pain with leg numbness. She also suffered a mild traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. Jones, age 62 at the time of the explosion, had worked 20 years as a sheet metal mechanic and could not return to work because of her injuries.