Lawsuit filed for Merced County children whose father died in explosion

MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of two children whose father died during an industrial explosion in Merced County.

Photos of Christian Ivan Terrones show a smiling father playing with his two young children. But now Jacqueline and Jair Terrones Payan are growing up without their dad because of a fuel tank explosion. It happened at a Merced County ranch on Highway 59 where Terrones was working last December.

Attorney Richard Watters said, "Ivan was instructed to go ahead and do spot welding on an opening in the tank, and the tank had not been cleaned, it was an old diesel tank, and this is against the code. The tank exploded and had severe impacts with this gentleman, and the autopsy report shows that he died immediately from being struck."

Watters has now filed a lawsuit on behalf of the children. It claims the people who owned and managed the ranch and the equipment put Terrones in an extremely dangerous situation.

"This was one of the few times he'd ever done this job, he was told to do this job, he wasn't trained on how to do this job, so he was really an innocent party here," said Watters.

The complaint requests damages for burial costs, and other losses the children have suffered so far and may continue to deal with in the future. Watters say he believes each child is entitled to at least one million dollars.

Watters added, "It's a lawsuit for money damages, and we're suing for the loss of financial support from this gentleman, but the more important part of it is the loss of a dad."

All of the defendants named in the lawsuit either had no comment or could not be reached for comment. They have 30 days to respond to the complaint, and the case could end up before a jury in civil court.