Two Serious Injured In Exxon Explosion

Two workers have been seriously injured after an explosion at an Exxon plant in Baytown over the past month. They have since filed a $10 million personal injury lawsuit against Exxon. There are a number of issues to discuss in a lawsuit like this, so let’s just cut straight to the quick.

The explosion occurred when the men were trying to dislodge a stuck bolt with a hammer and wrench. At the same time, they were trying to repair a naphthalene leak. Even without knowing more than that, you can figure out what happened. A spark flew igniting the flammable gas and causing an explosion.

Who’s fault is the accident 

We can’t say for sure whose fault it is, since a jury hasn’t rendered a verdict yet. But we can say that there are sufficient allegations against Exxon to establish the merit of the lawsuit. Exxon is blamed for mixing contractor crews from two contract companies to repair the naphthalene leak, which tends to be frowned upon.

This is important because the bulk of the allegations are against a second company that provides industrial labor. Exxon paid this company and another company to perform services including fixing the leak. Standard practice when attempting to dislodge a bolt using metal-on-metal manipulation is to spray down the area to snuff sparks before they occur and ignite the gas. While you may not have known that, if you work around flammable gasses and metal all day, it would surely be at the forefront of your mind.

Two of the men were immediately engulfed in flames and saved their own lives by jumping 20 feet to safety. They suffered severe orthopedic injuries and burns over their bodies. They blame the industrial services company for failing to adequately train their employees and Exxon for setting up a potentially dangerous situation.

Workers’ compensation 

The two workers who are filing the lawsuit are not naming their employer as a defendant. Instead, they are blaming Exxon Mobile for failing to ensure that there was adequate safety equipment prior to getting the work permit to do the work. Exxon then mashed up crews from two different contracting companies who didn’t know or trust one another, and a nearly fatal accident occurred when workers from that company failed to ensure that the area was safe while the other workers were attempting to close the valve. Since the lawsuits have been filed against two companies that the plaintiffs do not work for, they are allowed to pursue damages under Texas law.

While Texas doesn’t have the most worker-friendly laws in the nation, it does produce some of the largest personal injury verdicts against companies that cut established safety corners to save money. Everything is bigger in Texas, and about 35% of the “nuclear verdicts” (this is a rough guess) you hear about in the news are filed against trucking companies and industrial employers over workplace safety violations.

Talk to a Houston Personal Injury Attorney Today 

If you’ve been injured on the job, you may be able to file a lawsuit. Call the Houston personal injury lawyers at Livingston & Flowers today to schedule a free consultation and discuss your situation in more detail.

Source:

houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/energy-environment/2021/12/27/416341/2-injured-workers-file-10-million-lawsuit-against-exxonmobil-after-baytown-refinery-explosion/