Fireworks Explosion Results in Wrongful Death Lawsuits Against Manufacturing Factory

Following an explosion at an Alabama fireworks factory earlier this year, at least two wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against Ultratec Special Effects and other defendants.

Two women were killed and four others were injured in a fireworks explosion in February, at a factory in Madison County, Alabama. After investigators determined that the incident was caused by an exothermic reaction during the fireworks mixing process, the families of both women have filed lawsuits alleging that the deaths could have been prevented.

The family of Aimee Cothran filed a complaint late last month, naming Ultratec, as well as LunaTech, MST Properties, Pyroam, Robert Holland, Randy Moore, Mike Thouin, and John Anthony as defendants. The family of the other fatality, Virginia Marie Sanderson, are also pursuing a wrongful death claim, according to a local media report by WHNT.com.

The part of the plant where the fireworks exploded was subsequently shut down by a cease and desist order from the Alabama fire Marshall’s office in March, which cited a number of violations.

The plant has had a long history of fires and explosions, including a 1999 blast that killed one, when the plant was owned by Lunatech, a 2010 chemical fire with no injuries, a 2012 fire with one injury, a 2013 explosion that destroyed one of the factory’s buildings and injured two, and a 2014 blast with no injuries.

In addition to the fatal February 2015 accident, at least two more explosions occurred at the fireworks factory on October 1, 2015, with the second occurring while firefighters were still responding to the earlier blast. No one was injured in those explosions.

According to allegations raised in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Cothran family, Ultratec and other defendants were negligent and failed to provide a reasonably safe workplace.