Baltimore Restaurant Workers Awarded $34M after CO Leak

A Baltimore jury has awarded $34.3 million to 23 employees of an Inner Harbor steakhouse who suffered brain damage as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The plaintiffs worked for the Ruth’s Chris Steak House at the Pier V Hotel. The restaurant was evacuated on Feb. 2, 2008, after employees complained of dizziness and nausea. Carbon monoxide in the air was measured at potentially fatal levels.

Attorney Billy Murphy, who represented the plaintiffs, said Wednesday that the leak went on for weeks before the evacuation and that the hotel had removed a safety device that would have detected the problem.

The lawsuit named the hotel’s operator and owner. Murphy says Ruth’s Chris was not at fault.

Attorneys for the defendants could not immediately be reached for comment.