SC man sues Walmart after gas can explosion

AIKEN, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina man is suing Walmart, saying a gas can that exploded and set him on fire was defective and should never have been sold to him at a Walmart store in Barnwell.

In a federal lawsuit filed this month, Jamie Grubbs says he was using fuel as an accelerant for a fire in his back yard. He says fumes from the gasoline ignited, causing a “flashback explosion” and throwing burning gasoline onto him in 2015.

The lawsuit is one of several filed in recent years involving portable gas cans manufactured by Oklahoma-based Blitz U.S.A. Inc. Others have been filed in Arizona, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Oregon.

Blitz U.S.A. closed in 2012. Its CEO blamed the lawsuits .

Walmart representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment early Friday.