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HOUSTON – Reveriano Duran will carry the painful memories forever. And the scars.
Duran was badly burned in 2017 while working at a Berryhill's in Houston. He said cooking spoon flames suddenly over the grill, spraying flames across his body.
"I felt like I was burning, and I tried to put myself out," Duran said. "I just put my arms in my face, and it burned all this and my ears."
Two years later, Duran said when he's in a hot kitchen, so can not work full-time anymore.
WARNING: Some may find the video disturbing
The Houston cook is one of six people suing Conagra, the maker of PAM.
Y'Tesia Taylor, a college student in Greenville, Texas, was cooking in a fireball, the lawsuit alleges.
"All I know is a big fireball that goes up into the sky and comes out running saying, 'I'm burning,'" a relative said in the 911 call. "By the time she gets her skin gone peeling off his arm and her face."
Taylor while they wait for the ambulance.
"I know baby, they're on their way."
Taylor was airlifted to Plano with bad burns to her face, neck, chest, abdomen and both arms. She was placed in a medically-induced coma for two weeks. Her lungs were scarred and her contact lens melted in her right eye. She is still blind in that eye, according to the lawsuit.
The other victims include:
- A medical student in Indianapolis who required several surgeries and skin grafts after suffering severe burns in March. "He's got some raw skin." "It's like ten to 15 percent of his body that's just burnt off," his girlfriend told WRTV.
- A New York woman who was burned over nearly 30% of her body.
- A Utah couple burned in their home last November.
- An Illinois couple badly burned while cooking at a relative's house.
The Connecticut law firm handling the lawsuits blame a design change in 2011. Attorneys claim Conagra used the new cost-cutting design on larger 10 oz. Cans sold in Walmart, Costco and on Amazon. They're also used in restaurants.
Conagra obviously discontinued the new design in January 2019, but attorneys point out PAM has a shelf life of several years in the homes, and possibly stores.
"To this day, Conagra apparently refuses to institute a nationwide recall to ensure that defective permanent injury is prevented," said J. Craig Smith of Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder. "Every day that these days remain on store shelves, Conagra's negligence puts consumers in danger."
Conagra told USA Today that when PAM is used correctly, it is instructed, it's 100% safe.
"Like other aerosols, PAM Cooking Sprays are flammable, and its contents are under pressure," the company said in a statement to WRTV. "All PAM Cooking Sprays include warnings on the front and back of the packaging that the product is flammable . "
Conagra added that it should not be left above a heat source, should not be sprayed near an open flame and should not be stored above 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
Duran said he just wants to be compensated for the painful nightmare that may never end.
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