Philadelphia Injury Lawyer Represents Family of Steel Mill Worker

Philadelphia injury lawyer represents family of man who died after falling into container of boiling water at Claymont steel factory-case settles for $11 million.

Announcer: You’re watching “NBC10 News Today.”

News Anchor: A Delaware steel worker dies a horrible death after falling into a pit of boiling water and molten metal. Tonight, the NBC 10 investigators delve into the story of Tony Fuhr and a hunk of steel that his family says could have saved his life.

Pam: My Valentine’s sweetheart. We’ve had so many moments of laughter and caring, so many years of loving and sharing. Thank you for adding so much to my life, for being my best friend, my sweetheart, my wife.

News Anchor: Tony Fuhr never had the chance to sign this Valentine’s Day card to his wife Pam, or the one for his infant son. On Valentine’s morning 2003, Tony Fuhr fell through this unprotected gap in the safety rail of this steel cooling pit full of boiling water and molten metal. It happened at this planning claim on Delaware. There were no witnesses that saw Tony fall in, but there were several who heard and saw him after he climbed out of the pit, like this co-worker who recounts the horror in this taped deposition.

Jeffrey: It was like an animal scream. Steam was coming off of him. And you could start to see the skin was starting to peel on his hands.

News Anchor: Tony had severe burns from head to toe.

Pam: I was talking to him. He was fidgeting a little bit and his eyes were, like, tearing up and stuff like that. So, he could hear me and said he could hear me.

News Anchor: But Tony never spoke. He died two weeks after the accident at Crozer-Chester Hospital’s burn unit. Under questioning in this taped deposition by the attorney for the Fuhr family, the safety director for the company being sued and EnviroSource says when federal safety examiners came through one of the company’s other plants, they didn’t recognize the lack of safety rails around the cooling pit as a hazard.

Man: Did you?

Dale: Through the years we have recognized this as a potential hazard. And at the time that Tony had his accident, we had put up guard rails everywhere except right in front of the machine.

News Anchor: Where it was thought that a guard rail would interfere with the pivoting of this yellow machine that Tony sat inside of. It’s critical to the job that Tony performed. But the Fuhr’s family attorney says the job also often required him to get out of the machine to visually inspect the steel slabs like these.

Atty. Mongeluzzi: They thought or they assumed that they couldn’t put a safety rail there. A safety rail that they put up after the accident. Their assumption was wrong. It was dead wrong.

News Anchor: That’s Tony Jr. He was 10 months old when the accident happened. Pam says he looks a lot like his dad.

Tony: Ready?

Tony Jr.: Okay.

Tony: My turn. Count.

News Anchor: Now the investigators contacted the attorney for the company being sued, EnviroSource. Its attorney refused an on-camera interview nor would he comment off-camera about the case. However, in court papers, EnviroSource denies any negligence or wrongdoing.