Oil Worker Is Awarded $1.3 Million for Injuries

A former oil worker injured in a 1994 well accident and his wife have been awarded nearly $1.3 million in damages for his suffering and lost wages.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Barbara A. Lane ordered Vintage Petroleum to pay former employee Toby Thrower, 59, and his wife the amount as compensation for injuries he suffered during a gas leak at a Seacliff oil production plant.

Earlier this year, Lane determined that Vintage Petroleum was culpable for that accident, which injured or killed six employees, including Thrower. Lane is expected to award damages in related cases later this month.

“We’re very pleased with the judge’s decision,” said Thrower’s lawyer, Oxnard-based Richard L. Moomau. “Toby doesn’t like to talk about this much, but I know he’s happy to move on. He’s also pleased that the judge, in her decision, made reference that . . . in her 12 years on the bench, she had never seen a more straightforward and honest couple than Mr. and Mrs. Thrower.”

Toby Thrower was working as the crew foreman in August 1994 when he and his workers were overcome by a toxic gas leak while converting a defunct well into a disposal site at the foot of Rincon Mountain.

Three of his colleagues--Jason Hoskins, Ronald Johnson and Sean Harris--died of cardiac arrest shortly thereafter. Thrower and colleagues Derek Abbott and Jerry Walker were injured as well.

After the leak, Thrower suffered brain damage that causes headaches, lightheadedness and dizziness. He is also stricken with grief and post-traumatic stress disorder, Moomau said.

Thrower had originally sought $3.3 million in economic damages from Vintage, contending that the spill contributed to his heart attack seven months after the Aug. 10, 1994, gas leak. Lane was not satisfied that the incident contributed significantly to the heart attack, so the amount was lowered.

Vintage Petroleum lawyer Bruce Finck said the company disputes whether Thrower’s dizziness was caused by his fume exposure.

“An appeal is being considered by Vintage after the judge looks at all of the cases,” Finck said. “That is a decision that will be made back in Tulsa,” Okla., where the company is based.