Ok Sig Forum brain trust I need some advice on how to proceed.

Saturday morning my wife and I left for a weekend away. We stopped at a Loves travel plaza 10 minutes from home to fuel up before beginning the drive. I started fueling and turned to go back to the drivers side door I felt my legs start to get wet and discovered it was gasoline all over my backside. The pump hose was leaking about 3’ away from the nozzle. It was a small spray at that point however when I grabbed the nozzle to turn off the auto fill it pressurized the hose and began spraying fuel at a high velocity all over me and covering the entire drivers side of our Expedition El.

At that point I began searching for the emergency fuel shutoff switch. After the pump was finally shut off I went inside to speak to an employee. When there the individual running the cash register stated that he was aware of an issue with that pump and it should have had a bag over it / been shut off. He pulled $33 out of the cash register for my inconvenience and car wash. That doesn’t include the $15 in fuel that I was charged.

We then left the station to get the vehicle washed and then went home for me to shower and change. While home my wife put everything I had on in the wash. Big mistake as now the basement smells like gas. It is getting better now but still a faint odor. We’ve washed everything multiple times including with vinegar and baking soda with no luck as everything still stinks of fuel. I now have clothing, shoes, and belt that are destroyed. I don’t recommend ever adding up how much it would cost to replace what you wear. If I replaced everything I had on I’m out $350 minimum. That doesn’t include the car wash and whatever I’m going to have to do to remove the smell from the vehicle and our basement.

My wife has sent an email to Loves corporate, and we will be waiting until tomorrow for them to respond. My question is, if they decline to respond or do anything is this something I should just roll over on. I’d be more likely to roll over and accept the loss if it wasn’t for the fact that the store was aware of an issue at that specific pump and did not have it shut off or at a bare minimum bag over the nozzle.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 98XJRC,

Small claims court?

I would wait and see what they say. Hopefully, they will take care of it. The fact they knew about it and no one did anything is BS.

Careful!
Years ago, a man I knew who lived about one mile from me put some coveralls that had been wet with gasoline but he claimed had dried in his back porch washing machine to wash. He said the only thing that saved him was that he was on his out the door and down the steps when it blew up. He was blasted out into the back yard.
He did have some burns and was beaten up a bit. Fire dept saved most of the house.

Now, if I have any work clothes like that I hang them out through at least a couple rain and dry cycles and leave out a couple weeks for airing out, if they still smell strongly I'll wash them by hand outside in a bucket.

Unlikely yes, very very unlikely actually, but it has happened.

Sorry this happened to you. Absolute bullshit that the pump was energized. The yellow baggie over the pump handle should just be a notification to customers.

quote:

Originally posted by comet24:
I would wait and see what they say. Hopefully, they will take care of it.

^^ THIS ^^

Shit happens.

Wash the clothes, buy a new belt, and drive on.

If corporate makes it OK, that's a bonus.

Whoever regulates fire safety, hazardous materials,and air pollution in your area should hear about this.

quote:

Originally posted by Scott in NCal:
Whoever regulates fire safety, hazardous materials,and air pollution in your area should hear about this.

Call corporate office.

Loves Travel Plaza is huge and is a well-known chain of stations.

I am surprised there was no shift manager there.

Remember the attendant at the register is a minimum wage employee trying to support themselves or a family.

Get some Permatex 22340 Fast Orange GREASE X Mechanic's Laundry Detergent.

Most auto parts jobbers have it. Add that to a few loads of laundry and it will help remove the "odors" from the washer and clothes.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Get some Permatex 22340 Fast Orange GREASE X Mechanic's Laundry Detergent.

Most auto parts jobbers have it. Add that to a few loads of laundry and it will help remove the "odors" from the washer and clothes.

Words of Wisdom from the Great sigmonkey. He Knows

I don't always agree with Gustofer, but I am with him here.

My guess is they will acknowledge and offer a peace offering. If not, don't worry it. Stuff does happen.

Unfortunately I made the mistake of not verifying who I was talking to when everything was happening. I’m almost positive I spoke with the shift supervisor during the incident and he was the one who removed cash from the register. He also came out when I was back at the vehicle getting ready to leave and found the bag for the nozzle sitting on top of the pump.

Thankfully my washer doesn’t have the odor anymore and the smell is dissipating from the basement. Unfortunately I believe the clothes are a total loss, but may attempt Sig Monkeys solution at a laundry mat.

The entire thing irritates me as it could have been prevented. If the hose had broken when I began using it I completely understand. Accidents happen and things break. The fact that the station and employees knew that the hose was broken and didn’t have it shut off to avoid an inicident is another.

I have a question unrelated to the leak.

Did you leave you drivers door open? Why were you going back to it?

I ask, because going in and out of a vehicle while fueling is one of the leading causes of fuel station fires due to static buildup.
Women cause more fires than men because they have a habit of leaving the door open when exiting and not discharging the static before touching the nozzle, so the spark is generated at the nozzle.

quote:

Originally posted by Surefire:
I have a question unrelated to the leak.

Did you leave you drivers door open? Why were you going back to it?

I ask, because going in and out of a vehicle while fueling is one of the leading causes of fuel station fires due to static buildup.
Women cause more fires than men because they have a habit of leaving the door open when exiting and not discharging the static before touching the nozzle, so the spark is generated at the nozzle.

The door was shut. I turned back to go talk to my wife when I felt my pants getting wet.

You might be out of luck since you accepted the $33. Their lawyer is going to argue that it was settled then and there.

It's a little late at this point.
I would have gotten the names of all involved and immediately called the local fire marshall/fire department.
This was a serious safety hazard to anyone at the station, especially someone nearby.
You would have likely been compensated for at least your damages and probably more.
Now, who knows.

Just a note of reference to everyone. If you ever have a problem of any kind at any business establishment make them fill out an incident report and give you a copy. A company of any size will have their own version. It's like a police report for business's. This gives you a written record of the facts by an employee of the business. Takes out the he said she said factor. As to op's problem the business could be in some serious trouble if they did not report this incident. The EPA takes spills of this size seriously.

You should take up skate boarding:

Why skaterboys shouldn't play with gasoline...

Really, I can't imagine being doussed in gasoline and not making a big stink. Glad you made it home safe. One spark and you could have had a very different outcome.

quote:

You should take up skate boarding:

Nah. This is better:

Well Loves went and ticked my wife off. They stated how do we know your husband didn’t remove the bag himself. Along with claiming they didn’t have cameras on the pumps and was overall very rude to my wife and didn’t even attempt to apologize. Now she’s on a war path and hot primarily over how she was treated.

I found it comical that the individual she talked to claimed that there were no cameras. I pass the Depot twice every day and they clearly have cameras on the building facing the pumps. Which would clearly show the entire incident.