Ex-workers, city settle toxic gas case

The four said they became ill after being exposed to a pesticide in 1997 on a Largo soccer field. They initially sought $100,000 each, but will get $8,500 each.

By ERIC STIRGUS

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 22, 2000

LARGO -- Four former city employees who said they fell ill on the job after being exposed to a toxic, insect-killing gas more than three years ago have each agreed to accept $8,500 from the city.

One of the employees, Mark Slane, died in September of cancer, which his attorney said was caused by the pesticide. A lawsuit is still pending against the company, Hendrix and Dail Inc., that applied the gas, methyl bromide, on a city athletic field.

The workers said in court documents that since being exposed to the pesticide, they have suffered vision problems, loss of memory, depression and fatigue.

Methyl bromide can cause serious skin and vision problems and even death, experts say. Next year, the production of the pesticide will be banned in Florida.

After initially asking for $100,000 each in a claim filed in Pinellas Circuit Court, representatives for the workers and the city met and hammered out a deal for a fraction of their earlier demand. City commissioners agreed to the settlement at a meeting recently, ending the dispute between the two parties.

"In this case, we thought the city was not liable," said Kim Adams, the city's management services director.

The employees began negotiations by asking for the most they could get in this type of legal dispute from a municipality. Adams said he believed the settlement was fair for both sides. The attorney for the workers, Paul Genet, did not return telephone calls for comment.

On April 29, 1997, Slane, Greg Bechtel, Albert Johnson and Richard Lobik Jr. were asked by their bosses to remove a tarp from the Largo Soccer Complex.

The men asked a supervisor whether it would be safe to go on the field and, if so, whether they should wear protective gear. They said they were told it was safe.

The workers, who were not wearing protective gear, fell ill about a half-hour later.

"I started losing strength in my hands," Lobik Jr. said in court documents.

Doctors hired by the men said the gas had caused them serious health problems. Doctors hired by the city disagreed, believing the alleged exposure could not have caused the problems.

All four employees resigned from the city by May 1999.

About a year after the incident, the workers filed a claim seeking damages from the city for their injuries. With the recent decision, both sides were able to reach an out-of-court settlement.

- Information from Times files was used in this report.

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