A 30-year-old Bridgeport woman suffered severe injuries to both her hands and face after she lit a stick of dynamite that she’d mistook for a candle on the evening of Thursday, September 6.
The woman, her two kids and her husband had apparently traveled from their Lindsey Street home to a local Home Depot that evening at 9:20 p.m. shortly before the incident occurred. A thunderstorm earlier in the evening had caused the power to go out. They hoped that the store would be open so they could buy emergency lighting to help them with visibility that evening. The store had already closed for the night though.
Soon thereafter they returned home. One of the family members reported having remembered seeing what looked like candles in the basement and so the woman set out to retrieve them. As soon as she lit one, it exploded in her hand and face.
Paramedics arriving at the home quickly stabilized the woman before whisking her first to Bridgeport Hospital then to Yale-New Haven Hospital. The woman’s kids and husband apparently didn’t suffer any injuries in the incident.
Police and fire officials scoured the home and ultimately found a second piece of dynamite inside. In speaking with the family, they determined that it hadn’t been placed there by them, but instead had been left behind by the home’s previous owner. The purchase of both fireworks and dynamite are illegal in Connecticut.
In this instance, it’s unclear if criminal charges or a civil suit will be filed against the home’s previous owner for having possessed this illegal device and for the injuries that the woman suffered as a result of handling it.
Situations, in which someone’s negligence causes injuries or death, are all too common. A New Haven premises liability attorney can advise you whether you may be eligible to recover compensation in your case.
