Plaintiffs win $4 million in gas explosion lawsuit

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Whirlpool Corp. is among several defendants who have settled a $4 million lawsuit filed by a woman who was severely burned in a propane gas explosion in Rich Hill. Helen Schmitz was getting ready to move into a new home with her boyfriend, her 18-month-old daughter and his 12-year-old daughter when the explosion happened in 1993. The two girls were also injured.

The propane gas leak started when the home's previous owners disconnected a Whirlpool clothes dryer from the outside propane tank. The fire started when the pilot light was lit.