The Richmond County Superior Court lawsuit was filed Monday by George Sanders' children - George Sanders, Virginia Sanders, Zaneta Bussey, LaTrelle Pollard and LaKesha Walker.

Like the lawsuit filed by the families of Heinrich Kohl, 25, and John Rowland, 35, the Sanders family lawsuit is against Modern Welding Co., Modern Welding Co. of Georgia and Dresser Industries. The Sanders family lawsuit also names Black & Veatch, Pritchard Inc. as a defendant.

A lawsuit represents only one side of a dispute.

Mr. Sanders, 42, Mr. Kohl, and Mr. Rowland were fatally injured March 13 when an explosion rocked the Amodel unit inside the Augusta plant. The three men were working in the unit where heat-resistant plastic is made. At the time, the unit was shut down for maintenance and repairs.

The plant's internal investigation determined the three men were caught in an explosion when they tried to open the cover over a tank containing polymer waste.

The Sanders family lawsuit accuses the welding companies, which manufactured the tank; Dresser Industries, which manufactured the tank's pressure gauge; and Black & Veatch, Pritchard, which designed the plant's Amodel unit, of negligence, product liability and wrongful death.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

The suit filed by the Kohl and Rowland families is still pending. The defendants have filed court papers denying liability. Recently, Black & Veatch, Pritchard was added as a defendant in that lawsuit.

Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226 or shodson@augustachronicle.com.