Leading Oregon Explosion Injury Lawyer discusses explosion injuries after the gas explosion in Canby Oregon.
Due to strict state and federal laws on the handling of natural gas and other explosive chemicals, explosions or detonations that injure the public are very rare. Therefore an explosion usually demonstrates a disregard for strict laws governing natural gas and other combustables.
When our natural gas explosion law firm handled many of the NW 23rd and Glisan natual gas explosion cases caused by Loy Clark Pipeline on October 19, 2016 during the construction of Restoration Hardware building, it was considered the first natural gas explosion in approximately 20 years in Oregon.
Just a six years later our Oregon gas explosion lawyers were hired by all of the personal injury plaintiffs that filed litigation regarding the on February 22, 2022 Shearer's Food Plant Explosion in Hermiston Oregon. In that case an improperly installed oil heating unit had been incorrectly installed creating a very small leak of Paratherm, a highly flammable heating liquid that ignited, blowing out the doors and windows of the building injuring many employees and contractors.
Less than four years later, on February 3, 2026 another gas explosion happened in Kittyhawk Products plant in Canby Oregon. Both of our lawyers grew up in this area with Caleb Coon from Canby and Aaron DeShaw from Silverton Oregon.
This explosion occurred at the factory of Kittyhawk Products, which heat treats metal parts under high pressure. Canby Fire Chief Matt Dale said one of the tanks Kitthawk uses in their metal treating process exploded, blew the roof off the building, and destroyed several large metal bay doors of the factory. Video of the Kittyhawk Products explosion was caught by a nearby security camera.
Two tanks described as two stories tall and 15 feet in diameter are used in the process, one of which exploded under the building with such force that it blew the top off the building. People in the area were provided a Level 3 ("Go Now!") evacuation and Trost Elementary School and Baker Prairie Middle School were both closed the next day out of concern that the second tank would explode.
This local news gives us an opportunity to discuss what we've learned handling Oregon explosion cases in the past.
The injuries from an explosion can cause serious and permanent injuries
Natural gas and other explosions can kill people near to the explosion. The blast wave can be so strong it will cause structural damage to buildings blocks away as well as the people in them. Catastrophic injuries near the site of detonation can include burns and amputations. The most common serious injuries sustained in a blast injury are traumatic brain injuries, inner ear injuries and fractures caused by the force itself or falling structures. Less serious injuries include entry wounds such as those caused by shattered glass, shrapnel or debris.
Traumatic Brain Injuries from Explosions are Different
While the medical classification of a traumatic brain injury caused by an explosion is the same as those caused by a military explosives, a car crash, fall, or sports concussion, the mechanism and forces are different. Most brain injuries caused by explosions fall into the medical classification of "mild traumatic brain injury" including soldiers injured by IEDs in combat. Despite the medical classification of "mild," the damage to the person is anything but mild. With brain injuries caused by explosions many of the symptoms will be the same as those caused by other trauma, but given our deep expertise as TBI lawyers, we also have seen some distinct differences in symptoms.
Blast injuries cause brain injuries because the pressure wave from an explosion and the forces that follow it physically and biologically damage brain tissue, blood vessels, and the brain’s protective barriers.
How the blast wave hits the brain
An explosion creates a very rapid, high-pressure “blast wave” that moves through air and tissue much faster than normal sound. When this wave reaches the head, several things can happen at once:
- The wave passes directly through the skull, rapidly compressing and then decompressing the brain, stretching and shearing nerve fibers (often referred to as a "diffuse axonal injury") and causing concussion even without the head being hit.
- The blast overpressure can push blood from the body toward the head like a “tsunami,” overloading and injuring the small blood vessels of the brain and deep structures of the brain such as the brainstem and cerebellum.
- Pressure changes can travel via the chest and blood vessels or via the spinal fluid into the skull, transmitting additional energy into the brain.
Other mechanical forces of a TBI Caused by Explosion
Besides the primary wave, explosions also injure the brain through more familiar trauma mechanisms:
- Flying debris can strike the head (secondary blast injury), causing penetrating wounds, contusions, or skull fractures like any high‑velocity impact.
- The person can be thrown by the blast (tertiary blast injury), leading to the head hitting the ground, walls, or vehicles and producing more common types of traumatic brain injury from acceleration–deceleration.
Microscopic and vascular damage
At the microscopic level, blast exposure disrupts the brain’s blood supply and protective barriers:
- Blast waves and pressure-driven blood surges damage small vessels, reduce blood flow, and can strip protective layers from vessel walls, especially in repeated low-level exposures.
- The blood–brain barrier is damaged and becomes leaky, allowing harmful substances and immune cells into brain tissue, which promotes inflammation and further neuron injury.
Cellular stress and inflammation cause by a Blast Induced Brain Injury
After the initial physical insult, a cascade of biochemical changes can prolong and worsen the injury:
- Blast-induced TBI triggers oxidative stress and excessive activation of enzymes like PARP1, which deplete cellular energy (NAD⁺, ATP) and weaken antioxidant defenses in brain cells.
- This promotes chronic inflammation and impaired repair in neurons and supporting cells (astrocytes, microglia), contributing to long-term problems with thinking, mood, sleep, and sensory processing. This sets a person up for neurodegenerative conditions including Parkinsons and Alzheimers.
Symptoms can be Permanent
Because blasts can affect the whole brain—surface, deep structures, vessels, and cellular pathways—people may develop persistent issues even when CTs and MRIs are read by the radiologist as "normal:"
- Studies of service members with repeated blast exposure show increased brain inflammation, reduced brain volume and thickness, and disrupted neural connections, changes associated with higher risk of later brain disease.
FAQ: What Are Symptoms of a Traumatic Brain Injury After a Blast Injury?
For concussion-type blast TBI, the symptoms are similar to other concussions but often occur in clusters and can be persistent.
Symptoms of a Traumatic Brain Injury:
- Physical: Headache, dizziness or balance problems, nausea or vomiting early on, fatigue or low energy, blurred or double vision, and sensitivity to light and noise.
- Cognitive (“thinking”): Feeling slowed down or in a fog, trouble concentrating, short-term memory problems (especially for events around the blast), and difficulty following conversations or multitasking.
- Emotional or Behavioral: Irritability, feeling more emotional than usual, anxiety, sadness or low mood; these can overlap with or be hard to distinguish from PTSD, which is also common after blast exposure.
- Sleep: Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping much more or less than normal.
Common symptoms in blast-related concussion:
- We have found that people with a traumatic brain injury caused by a blast have particular difficulty with linear thought and speech. They tend to jump around in their conversation, not realizing that their thoughts or words are not linear or logical.
- Similarly, they have difficulty sequencing actions such as doing tasks that logically follow one another. This makes handling common personal or business tasks very difficult.
- Symptoms can occur even if the person did not hit their head or lose consciousness; the pressure wave alone can cause concussion-level injury.
- Inner ear injuries are common in explosion injury cases. A specialist will need to determine of Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and hearing problems (called sensorineural hearing loss) are due to the brain injury or an injury to the inner ear.
- Increased startle response to sudden loud noises can be present due to concurrent PTSD commonly seen after a blast injury.
Persistent symptoms beyond a month should additionally be diagnosed with post-concussion syndome.
Practical Example of a Traumatic Brain Injury Caused by a Blast
Someone near an explosion might walk away feeling stunned but awake, with a headache and ringing in the ears. Over the next hours to days they may notice trouble concentrating, irritability, poor sleep, and feeling overwhelmed by noise and bright light, even though brain scans are normal—this pattern is typical of concussion-type blast TBI.
Danger Signs after a Blast
“Danger signs” that suggest something more serious than a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury after an explosion or blast include a worsening headache, repeated vomiting, increasing confusion, slurred speech, one pupil larger than the other, seizures, or inability to wake up—these need emergency evaluation.
FAQ: What Are Symptoms of a Moderate or Severe Traumatic Brain Injury After a Blast Injury?
Approximately 80% of all traumatic brain injuries are classified as "Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries" including most of the injuries caused by explosions. These "Mild TBIs" can destroy the person's life and result in permanent consequences.
Only 20% of all traumatic brain injuries meet the definition for moderate or severe traumatic brain injury - primarily the ones that threaten a person's life immediately following the injury.
The most serious blast TBIs (classified as Moderate TBI or Severe TBI) usually have all the concussion-type symptoms plus clear signs that the brain is structurally damaged.
Altered consciousness and awareness
- Loss of consciousness lasting minutes to hours, or coma.
- Being very hard to wake up, extreme lethargy, or not responding normally to people or pain.
- Profound confusion, disorientation, or inability to recognize familiar people or places.
Dangerous physical and neurological signs
- Worsening or severe headache that does not go away.
- Repeated vomiting or persistent nausea after the blast.
- Seizures or convulsions.
- Weakness, numbness, or paralysis in the face, arms, or legs; loss of coordination, staggering, or inability to walk.
- One or both pupils enlarged or unequal, double vision, or loss of vision; clear fluid leaking from the nose or ears (possible cerebrospinal fluid leak).
Speech, behavior, and thinking changes
- Slurred or garbled speech, major trouble speaking or understanding language.
- Marked agitation, combativeness, or other very unusual behavior not typical for the person.
- Major memory gaps (not just around the event), inability to make simple decisions, or very slowed thinking.
When is a TBI from an explosion an emergency
If you have any concerns regarding a person's injury call 911 immediately. This web site is not a substitute for the care of a licensed doctor.
Clear signs of an emergency due to a brain injury following an explosion should be treated as a medical emergency and requires immediate evaluation in an emergency department. These include:
- Loss of consciousness longer than a brief moment, or not waking up normally.
- Worsening headache, repeated vomiting, seizures, new weakness or numbness, or difficulty speaking, walking, or seeing.
If you or a loved one has suffered a blast injury or is the survivor of a traumatic brain injury, then please contact us for a free consultation.
Speak to an Oregon Explosion Injury Lawyer Now: (503) 227-1233