Allegheny County Courthouse
PITTSBURGH – A worker who was caught in an explosion as he tried to cap a natural gas well in Clearfield County has sued a host of companies he hopes to hold responsible.
Timothy Richmond sued EQT Corporation, Coastal Well Service, National Oil Well Varco, Caterpillar and NAPA, among others, last week in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. Richmond and his wife are represented by David Kwass and others at Saltz Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendesky.
The suit concerns an incident in March 2024 as Richmond was helping to fill a well with cement. Problems connecting a pipe to a drill led workers to bring in a new power swivel from another crew.
Richmond was connecting hydraulic lines when it exploded, the suit says. The new swivel had remained on while Richmond worked with the hose, causing a build-up of pressure, the suit says.
“At the time of the explosion, Plaintiff was holding a brass fixture, called a coupling, which was attached to the hose,” the suit says.
“The explosion caused the coupling to shoot off of the hose and rip into Plaintiff’s abdomen from close range… The coupling entered through Plaintiff’s front right abdomen and exited through his back, destroying everything in its path.”
Though the coupling was relatively small, the explosion tossed Richmond 30 feet, he says. A piece of the coupling came off and lodged in his right lung.
Richmond is suing EQT as the owner of the well site, plus contractors and companies whose machinery was used to fill the well with cement. His suit says he suffered “catastrophic injuries.”
Among them were collapsed lungs, broken ribs and liver lacerations.
