On the morning of the power plant explosion in Middletown, Nicholas Novik, 52, of River Vale, New Jersey, was testing instruments.
Workers were purging pipes when the explosion happened. Six men were killed. Several more were injured.
Novik said he sustained serious and permanent head injuries and hearing loss as a result of the Kleen Energy Plant explosion on Feb. 7, 2010 and intends to file the first federal lawsuit in connection with the blast.
Novik worked for Instrument Sciences and Technology, in Frenchtown, New Jersey, through Local 1202, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and was working on calibrating and testing instruments on the day of the explosion, but was not involved in the events leading to the explosion, according to his attorneys.
Novik and his wife, Patricia, filed the lawsuit against Kleen Energy Systems, the Torrington-based construction company O&G Industries, Inc., Keystone Construction & Maintenance Services, Inc., Rowley, Mass., and Bluewater Energy Solutions, Inc., based in Acworth, Georgia.
Attorney William M. Bloss, of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder in Bridgeport is representing Novik.
“ It appears that this tragedy was entirely avoidable,” Bloss said, citing OSHA findings “We filed the case in federal court because those involved are from different states and because we are likely to receive a trial date within a relatively short period of time.”
Novik is still receiving medical treatment and has not been allowed to return to work, according to his attorneys. Patricia Novik is listed as a Plaintiff because her husband’s injuries resulted in loss of consortium.
