A postdoctoral fellow and her spouse have filed a civil lawsuit against the University of Hawaii after she lost her right arm in a laboratory explosion last year.
Thea Ekins-Coward and her wife, Amy, filed the Jan. 9 complaint at Circuit Court accusing UH, professor and principal investigator Jian Yu, Hawaii Natural Energy Institute Director Richard Rocheleau and other defendants of negligence, dangerous condition of public property and emotional distress, among other allegations.
Their attorney Michael Danko, based in California, has accused UH of forcing Thea Ekins-Coward to move back to England after canceling her visa in May. “The university essentially turned their back on her,” he said.
UH spokesman Dan Meisenzahl said, “The university did not cancel Dr. Ekins- Coward’s visa. We complied with federal immigration and regulatory and reporting requirements, as required by federal law.”
He also stressed “the university absolutely denies that it turned its back on Dr. Ekins-Coward, but it is not appropriate to comment further at this time.”
The explosion occurred March 16 at a lab operated by the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the Pacific Ocean Science & Technology building. Ekins-Coward, who has a doctorate degree in chemical engineering and advanced materials from Newcastle University, started as a postdoctoral fellow under Yu in October 2015.
She was working on a mixture of low-pressure hydrogen, carbon dioxide and oxygen when the portable metal cylinder the gases were contained in exploded. An independent investigation by experts hired by UH concluded the explosion was likely caused by static electricity.
The lawsuit said the tanks provided to Ekins-Coward were dangerous, unsuitable for research and experiments, not designed for flammable gases and not grounded to prevent static electrical discharge.
The Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Office had fined UH almost $70,000 for violations in connection with the lab blast. All fines have since been paid.
The lawsuit says the defendants “failed to take any steps to make the laboratory safe, failed to provide necessary safety training to Thea Ekins-Coward and failed to provide proper and safe equipment.”
“The injury has been emotionally devastating for her,” Danko said. According to court documents, the explosion caused Ekins-Coward “serious emotional distress including post-traumatic stress, anxiety, anguish and suffering.”
Danko said both Yu and Rocheleau were aware of the risk of explosion involving the mixture of flammable gases and the equipment. Ekins-Coward expressed her concerns but was told not to worry about it, he said.
According to the complaint, she lost her right arm above the elbow, suffered abrasions to her cornea, facial burns and nerve damage to her ears, resulting in “loss of high frequency hearing.”
Meisenzahl declined further comment due to the pending litigation. Both Yu and Rocheleau also declined to comment.
The laboratory has remained closed since the blast. Upcoming repairs and renovations are estimated to cost $500,000 to $1 million. Meisenzahl said the lab is tentatively scheduled to reopen in September.
Ekins-Coward Civil Complaint by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd
