The personal injury lawsuit of a Colorado man who was seriously injured after superheated steam escaped at the Midwest Renewable Energy ethanol plant near Sutherland has been moved to Lincoln County.

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The case, brought by Justin A. Steindorf of Fort Collins Colo., was originally filed in Douglas County District Court March 21. The lawsuit concerns an injury he received while working at the plant May 9, 2006.

Steindorf is seeking damages against MRE and KL Process Design Group of Rapid City S.D. Also named in the suit is U.S. Water Services Utility Chemicals, Steindorf’s employer.

Steindorf was an employee of U.S. Water Services and was assigned to work at the MRE plant in Sutherland that day, the lawsuit said. Steindorf was helping other U.S. Water employees preparing to acid-clean a boiler at the ethanol plant, according to the suit.

The boiler was composed of a steel drum.

Steindorf was monitoring the pH levels and temperatures and watching for stabilization when he was then asked to remove the manhole cover of the boiler, the lawsuit said.

Dennis Harstad, MRE plant manager, assured Steindorf that the boiler had been properly vented and depressurized and that the U.S. Water employees could safely open the boiler, the lawsuit said.

But the lawsuit said that unknown to Steindorf, the boiler was still under pressure with steam.

As Steindorf removed the manhole cover, the steam and water-treatment chemicals in the boiler spewed out and scalded him, the lawsuit said. The suit said Steindorf received second and third-degree burns to several parts of his body.

The accident occurred about 10 a.m., according to Troy Rickett, Assistant Volunteer Fire Chief of Sutherland

A 31-year-old employee suffered second and third-degree burns to his right arm, burns on both legs and torso area that day and a 41-year-old man working at the plant suffered first and second-degree burns to his arms, chest and torso. The man also fell 15 feet as the steam escaped and suffered minor injuries from the fall.

The names of the men were not released.

Rickett said 8-10 volunteer firefighters from Sutherland converged on the plant but that officials had already stopped the escaping steam by the time they arrived.

The injured men were taken from the scene by Sutherland ambulance first responders and met North Platte Fire Department EMTs at Birdwood Crossing about 10:30 a.m. They were transferred to NPFD ambulances and taken to Great Plains Regional Medical Center.

The lawsuit said Steindorf was then transported to the Burn and Wound Center at the Saint Elizabeth Medical Center in Lincoln where he remained from May 9 through May 16. He then had additional medical treatment at the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio Texas, the suit said.

In the lawsuit, Steindorf said MRE, KL and Harstad individually and collectively had a duty to depressurize the boiler so he could open the manhole cover in a safe manner. He said the companies and Harstad were negligent and failed to act in a reasonable and prudent manner.

Steindorf said he suffered $64,490.65 in medical expenses, future medical expenses, lost wages and painful and permanent injuries.

U.S. Water, in its answer to the suit, said its worker’s compensation insurer paid $48,121.15 for the medical expenses and asked the judge for a judgment against MRE and KL for that amount.

In its answer, KL said that the fault was as much Steindorf’s as it was KL and MRE’s.

KL and MRE also sought to have the lawsuit moved from Douglas to Lincoln County.

Douglas County District Judge J. Russell Derr, ruled August 21 that the case should be transferred.

Derr said, in his ruling, that since most of the expert witnesses are largely going to be non-Nebraskans, it made little difference whether they travel to Omaha, Denver or North Platte. He also noted that most of the fact witnesses are already in Lincoln County.

Derr said for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice, any district court may transfer a civil case to any other county in the state.

No hearing dates have yet been set.