Solorio v. Lincoln Composites
Nov 05, 2014OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement
In Solorio v. Lincoln Composites, Greg Vanni and a team of his colleagues represented Israel Solorio, who lost his right leg and suffered other serious injuries when two compressed natural gas (CNG) v ... essels in his delivery van exploded while being filled in March 2009. The catastrophic ruptures occurring within the vessels’ service life called into question the safety of the existing standards, and the design, manufacturing, and testing processes for these all-plastic vessels in CNG vehicles and in future hydrogen vehicles. The case brought national attention to the issue of regulations and safety — and an investigation was launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and NASA’s White Sands Testing Facility. The handling attorneys conducted their own testing and analysis through experts from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Aerospace Corporation and others. The attorneys also provided funding for the investigation in the interest of public safety at a cost of nearly $2 million. The matter settled for a confidential amount and created an unprecedented database for NHTSA and NASA that identifies the conditions and flaws that lead to failure and can be used to save lives in the future.
