LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two weeks after the emergency calls rolled in when the Givaudan plant in Clifton exploded, the confusion continues as neighbors worry about what sort of permanent damage has been done.
"Plants don't blow up in the middle of neighborhoods. The fight is going to be over what are they entitled to over and above the cost of fixing a window," attorney Tad Thomas said after filing the second lawsuit against the company.
He represents two Payne Street homeowners — one worried about the structural integrity of their home, the other re-experiencing PTSD.
The suit accuses the company of negligence over the explosion of pressure cooker number six, which authorities say overheated and blew up.
A Givaudan spokesperson did not answer WHAS11's request for a statement the day before Thanksgiving.
WHAS11 asked what evidence Thomas had that the company either ignored or mishandled the cooker.
"That's what we're gonna get into," he answered. "One of the reasons for filing the lawsuit is to give us access to what they knew and when they knew it."
Thomas expects that lawsuit to combine with others that have already been filed and more that are waiting to be filed.
Randy Crumley is one of those people waiting to file. He was home when the plant explosion sent a metal beam through his side window.
He came back to pick over the remains of his apartment. Just before the blast, he was headed toward the computer near his back window that caved in.
"And look for jobs and do that stuff and then get on out the door because I had to go to the hospital, 'cause my dad was in the hospital and had a seizure. I had to go pick up my mom because she can't really drive in downtown Louisville," Crumley recalled.
Driving is a problem for him now too. Blast investigators told him not to touch his vehicle, which he worries insurance won't pay enough money out for.
"It had low miles, I took care of it, I fixed everything that was wrong with it," he explained,
A utility pole collapsed, landing on the car, but now he's struggling with something unseen.
"I'm a 40-year-old man and I'm out here scared of thunder now," Crumley said. "Any time I hear a loud noise, every time, a day has not gone by where I haven't ducked for cover because I thought it was happening again."
Taking off with the rack his clothes were drying on when the blast happened, Crumley's figuring out how to put his life together again after losing his home.
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