Opinion ID: 445253
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 2 Michael J. Jenkins and Herbert L. Johnson were severely burned in an explosion and fire which occurred on December 26, 1979, during the course and scope of their employment with AMF Tuboscope, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AMF, Inc. After initial filings, discovery and dismissal of defendants, the case went to trial solely against AMF. Plaintiffs based their claim of liability against AMF on the rubric incorporated in Restatement (Second) of Torts Sec. 324A (1966). 1 3 At the time of the accident, Jenkins and Johnson were pouring flammable solvents from 55-gallon drums into a ball or pebble mill tank, a large grinder used to grind compounds into a coating compound. The pouring process required laying the drums on their sides, opening them, and allowing the chemicals to flow into a funnel in the middle of the second-floor balcony on which plaintiffs worked. It is not disputed that Jenkins and Johnson were following the prescribed procedures for pouring the solvents when an explosion occurred. The plaintiffs were buffeted by the force of the explosion, engulfed in flames and severely injured. The jury awarded damages totaling $755,544.05.