The family of a man killed in a Lincoln County, N.C., marina explosion has been awarded $1.5 million.
Jurors took less than an hour to make that decision Wednesday in the case of Nate Coppick. The 19-year-old was killed in 2008 while refueling a boat at Westport Marina.
The jury said Petroleum Equipment and Service had knowingly put people in danger by installing a piece of equipment that the state said was illegal to use at marinas.
A lawyer for the company said Nate was at fault for fueling a boat while it was running.
An attorney for Coppick’s estate said the fuel nozzle hold-open latch Coppick was using didn’t work properly and that at least 30 gallons of gas overflowed before the explosion.
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