Couple Hurt in Blast Awarded $11.5 Million
BELLEVILLE, Ill. — Illinois Power Co. has agreed to pay $11.5 million to a couple critically injured in a natural-gas explosion in their home two years ago.
In a settlement reached Monday, the utility agreed to pay Jerry Sickmeier, 33, and Lisa Jines, 26, $10 million in damages and $1.5 million for medical expenses, said the couple’s attorney, C. E. Heiligenstein.
Both suffered burns on more than 80% of their bodies in the Dec. 7, 1986, explosion. The couple alleged that Illinois Power was negligent when it allowed a natural-gas pipe to deteriorate to the point that it ruptured. Gas from the pipe traveled through sewer lines into the home’s utility room.
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