$47 Million Consolidated Settlement After Soulard Boiler Explosion Killed Four People

On April 3, 2017, a pressurized steam condensation tank at the Loy-Lange Box Company plant at 222 Russell Boulevard in St. Louis's Soulard neighborhood failed catastrophically. The 3,000-pound vessel blew through the roof of the facility and traveled roughly 500 feet before crashing into Faultless Healthcare Linen, a commercial laundry on the same block.

The blast killed four people. Kenneth Trentham, a Loy-Lange employee, died at the plant. Three Faultless Healthcare Linen workers, Christopher Watkins, Tonya Gonzalez-Suarez, and Clifford Lee, were struck when the vessel landed on the laundry building; Watkins and Gonzalez-Suarez died at the scene, and Lee died two days later. Three others sustained injuries. The force of the explosion was later compared to roughly 350 pounds of TNT.

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board determined that chronic corrosion, combined with repeated failures to inspect or replace the vessel, caused the failure. The tank had first developed a leak in November 2012. A contractor recommended replacement of the lower sections, but that work was never completed. Engineers detected another leak on March 31, 2017, and a repair technician was scheduled, but Loy-Lange started up the steam generation system anyway. Three days later, a 6-inch ring component gave way.

Families of the four victims, along with injured workers and property claimants, filed suit in St. Louis Circuit Court under case number 1722-CC00994, captioned Jimmy Louis Watkins et al. v. Loy-Lange Box Company et al. The litigation named six defendants, including the box company, boiler manufacturers, a water treatment contractor, and a firm called Arise Incorporated that had a role in maintaining or servicing the vessel. Judge Michael W. Noble presided. Tom Neill of Gray, Ritter and Graham represented the family of one of the victims, alongside attorneys from several other St. Louis plaintiffs' firms.

Before the case reached an August 2019 trial date, all parties settled during mediation in July 2019. The six defendants paid a combined total exceeding $47 million. Clayton Industries contributed the largest share at $21 million, followed by Arise Incorporated at $17.5 million, Loy-Lange Box Company at $4 million, Aquacomp Water Treatment Services and Chicago Boiler Company at $2 million each, and Kickham Boiler and Engineering at $728,000. The settlement resolved four wrongful-death suits, three personal injury claims, and two property damage cases.