CHARLESTON – A Kanawha County jury has awarded the widow of a Putnam County man $15 million after her husband died in the December 2020 explosion at Belle Chemical Plant $15 million.
The six-member jury announced its verdict May 2 following a two-week wrongful death trial before Kanawha Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers.
John Gillenwater’s widow Tina sued plant owner Optima Belle, chemical company Clearon, The Chemours Company and others for the wrongful death of John Gillenwater, 42. He was working at the plant December 8, 2020, on the evening a new process was being used to remove water/moisture from chlorinated dry bleach. Clearon contracted with Optima to perform the process.
Segal
| File photo
Attorney Scott Segal, who represented Tina Gillenwater, said the jury understood the explosion never should have happened.
“The companies should have known that putting 8,800 pounds of dried chlorinated bleach into this dryer was going to cause an explosion,” Segal said, comparing the force of the blast to that of two tons of TNT. The blast destroyed the building that housed the dryer and blew Gillenwater out of the building.
The jury awarded $10 million in damages under the state’s wrongful death statute. Clearon was found 70 percent responsible, and Optima was found 30 percent responsible. The jury also awarded $5 million for Gillenwater’s conscious pain and suffering.
“It was a horrible, horrible, horrible way to die,” Segal told The West Virginia Record. “The $5 million acknowledges the jury’s horror and understanding of the last hour and 15 minutes of his conscious life was like after the explosion. He lived almost two more hours after that, but he was unconscious.”
Segal praised the six-member jury and the alternate who had to step in when one juror fell ill.
“I’m very happy with the fact that they were so attentive to all of this evidence,” Segal said. “There was a lot of expert testimony. They had to learn a lot about chemical processing, chemical reactions, blast injury, chlorine gas exposure, thermal lung damage. There was a lot.
“But, this jury was engaged the whole time. And we had a judge (Akers) who, no matter what got thrown in front of her, had the intelligence and stamina to keep pushing to get the case tried.
“She had two major criminal matters that occurred. Then, there was the blackout (April 29). She and her staff, no matter what was thrown at them, she kept the case moving. And she had a juror get sick. …
“It was a challenge for a judge, and she rose to the challenge.”
Segal also praised the Gillenwater family. John Gillenwater left behind Tina and two children.
“I think this jury verdict speaks to who the Gillenwater family is and was because they truly crawled out of the darkest night you can imagine,” Segal said. “They couldn’t even see their father before or after he died.
“I was so proud of them when they testified. They have put their lives back together to be some of the most wonderful people walking this earth today. When the kids were little, Tina and the kids when with John to Haiti three times to help the children of Haiti. That’s the kind of people they were, and they still are.”
Segal said the family now can move forward.
“This verdict closes this horrific chapter in their life,” he said. “They know financially they’re in a very good place to do that."
Segal said justice was served.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the trial court and jurors showing the world that a working man’s family can get justice in West Virginia," he said.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 21-C-1105
