$25.5 Million Recovery for Two New Iberia Firefighters Burned in a Natural Gas Explosion Caused by Directional Drilling in Louisiana

Two firefighters responding to a gas leak in New Iberia, Louisiana, walked into an explosion that was not their fault and should never have happened. A contractor’s failure to locate and protect an existing underground gas line before drilling set off two successive blasts that burned a 26-year-old father of three across 30 percent of his body and left an Assistant Fire Chief with permanent scarring on his arm. BDM’s Blake R. David and Reed K. Ellis recovered $25.5 million for these two men and their families after a two-year fight in state and federal court against defendants who blamed everyone but themselves.

How a Contractor’s Mistake Turned a Routine Gas Leak Call Into a Catastrophe

On a July day in 2021, a crew from the New Iberia Fire Department responded to a reported natural gas leak at a trailer. What they did not know, and had no way to know, was that the leak had been caused by a contractor using horizontal directional drilling equipment to install new gas distribution pipe. The drill struck an existing underground gas utility line. By the time the firefighters began their operations, the conditions for a disaster were already set. A natural gas explosion detonated inside the building. Seconds later, a second explosion followed.

That sequence was not a random act of nature. It was the direct result of a contractor failing to identify and protect an existing underground utility line before putting a drill bit in the ground. The men who paid the price were the ones who showed up to protect everyone else.

Thirty Percent of His Body: The Full Human Cost of the Catastrophic Injuries

The younger firefighter was 26 years old. He had been with the New Iberia Fire Department since 2018. He had three children at home.

The two explosions burned approximately 30 percent of his body. The burns covered his face, ears, neck, chest, both arms, both hands and fingers, his knees, and his inner thighs. He sustained a combination of second- and third-degree burns. By the time this case resolved, he had undergone more than fifteen surgeries, including debridement procedures, skin grafting, and laser scar revision.

The physical injuries were only part of what the explosions took from him. He developed severe post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, anxiety, and insomnia. He has been in psychological treatment since shortly after the incident. His treating physicians concluded he could not return to firefighting and could not perform medium-duty outdoor work of any kind. The career he had built, the identity he had built around serving his community, was gone.

The Assistant Chief sustained second-degree burns to his right forearm and elbow. He carries permanent scarring. He has experienced chronic fatigue, disrupted sleep, and emotional distress that persisted long after the flames were out.

These are what catastrophic injuries actually look like: not just the damage that is visible on the day of the incident, but the surgeries that follow, the psychological weight that accumulates, and the life that can no longer be lived the way it was planned.

A Two-Year Legal Battle Against Defendants Who Blamed Everyone but Themselves

The defendants did not concede anything. They contested liability by pointing fingers at subcontractors and third parties. They challenged causation. They disputed coverage. They argued the firefighters had failed to follow proper protocol and were not wearing appropriate PPE at the time of the explosions. They filed multiple motions for summary judgment in both state and federal court over the course of two years.

Their most significant legal argument was the Professional Rescuers Doctrine, sometimes called the firefighter’s rule. Under this doctrine, the defendants argued that burn injuries are an inherent and non-actionable risk of firefighting, and that because these men were professional rescuers responding to an emergency, they could not hold the contractor responsible for the injuries that emergency caused.

The trial court rejected that argument. The Third Circuit Court of Appeal agreed. The doctrine did not insulate a contractor whose negligence created the emergency in the first place.

To take on every ground the defense intended to contest, we assembled a team of experts covering mechanical engineering, fire and explosion investigation, directional drilling standards and utility installation practices, fire department protocols and haz-mat forensics, burn care and life care planning, vocational rehabilitation, and full economic damages for both men. We built the case to defeat the defense’s arguments before they could make them.

On the eve of two separate trial dates, the cases resolved. The total recovery was $25.5 million.

The Professional Rescuers Doctrine: Why This Legal Win Matters Beyond This Case

The defendants’ argument that a firefighter cannot recover for injuries caused by a contractor’s negligence because fire is an inherent risk of firefighting is not unique to this case. It is an argument that gets made across Louisiana and across the country, and if it succeeds, it gives every careless contractor a free pass for the consequences of their negligence as long as a firefighter is the one left holding them.

The Third Circuit’s rejection of that argument in this case matters. It stands for the proposition that when a contractor creates a hazardous condition through negligence, the professional rescuers sent in to manage that condition do not forfeit their right to hold that contractor accountable. That is a result that has implications for every first responder and every family in Louisiana that depends on them.

Personal Injury Attorneys in Lafayette, Louisiana Serving Families Across the State

BDM is a catastrophic injury and personal injury law firm based in Lafayette, Louisiana, with offices in Covington and New Orleans. Our trial attorneys handle the cases that require the most preparation, the most expert resources, and the most willingness to go the distance. We do not take shortcuts, and we do not back down when defendants file motion after motion to keep a case from ever seeing a jury.

We have seen what catastrophic injuries take from people and from families. We know how to build the case that gets them what they deserve.

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured due to a gas line explosion, burn injuries, or another catastrophic injury caused by contractor negligence in Louisiana, contact us today for a free consultation. Call (337) 233-2323 locally or (888) 337-2323 toll-free.

Justice. Obtained.