U-Haul Pays $160 Million After Overfilled Propane Tank Kills Food Truck Owner and Her Daughter

On July 1, 2014, Olga Galdamez was working her food truck, La Parrillada Chapina, at the corner of Third Street and Wyoming Avenue in the Feltonville neighborhood of North Philadelphia. Her 17-year-old daughter Jaylin was there with her. A propane tank connected to the truck ruptured in 93-degree heat and ignited, sending a fireball into the street. Both women suffered burns so severe that they died roughly three weeks later. Three bystanders also sustained serious burn injuries.

Investigation traced the explosion to a U-Haul location in the Hunting Park section of Philadelphia. The propane tank was approximately 70 years old and lacked federally required safety valves. Video evidence showed a U-Haul employee had repeatedly refilled the cylinder in the period before the blast, overfilling it and leaving no room for gas to expand in the summer heat. U-Haul's general manager at the location later faced federal criminal charges for hazardous-materials violations.

Alan Feldman of Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock and Dodig represented the estate of Olga and Jaylin Galdamez, working alongside co-counsel at Saltz Mongeluzzi and The Duffy Firm. The legal teams argued that U-Haul's propane-refilling practices were reckless and that the company had the means and obligation to screen equipment it agreed to service. They presented the video footage and expert testimony on how the overfill interacted with that afternoon's heat to create an unstable tank.

In June 2018, U-Haul agreed to a global settlement of $160 million plus an additional confidential sum. The Galdamez estates received approximately $36.47 million. The remainder went to three burn survivors, two of them minors, who faced lifetimes of reconstructive surgeries and physical limitations. Philadelphia's Orphans' Court approved the minor claimants' portions. At announcement, the figure was described by attorneys and press as the largest pre-verdict settlement ever recorded in Pennsylvania state courts.

The case also contributed to renewed attention on federal propane-cylinder safety standards and commercial refilling practices.