Contact a Refinery Accident Attorney For Your Case
The most dangerous jobs in America are those at chemical plants and oil refineries. Thousands are killed and injured by unsafe policies and outdated equipment every year.
Explosions, chemical fume leaking, and fires are all too common. They are also often preventable, which is even more alarming.
Victims of oil refinery accidents and plant fires can experience mental and physical trauma. Many workers have suffered severe burns, permanent disfigurement, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with which we are familiar.
Our lawyers understand how difficult it can be to recover. We are determined to collect the maximum financial compensation possible for our clients, including lost wages and future medical expenses.
What compensation can oil refinery workers and chemical plant workers be awarded?
For many years, workers can become incapacitated from chemical fires, plant explosion injuries, and oil refinery accidents. Injured workers cannot earn an income and face future and current medical bills, often exceeding $100,000. They also need extensive rehabilitation.
Family members often pay far more for injuries from chemical fires, plant explosions, and oil refinery accidents than they can afford.
Workers’ compensation typically covers only medical expenses and lost wages. However, claims for plant explosion injuries and lawsuits arising from refinery accidents can result in complete financial recovery.
This includes financial compensation for:
- Past, present, and future medical expenses
- Past and future lost wages
- The two most painful things in life are suffering and pain
- Emotional distress
- Disfigurement / impairment
- Loss of life enjoyment
- Wrongful death
- Loss of consortium
Punitive damages may be available to you in a personal injury case. This is substantial above your actual losses and serves to punish negligent oil companies for their misconduct.
Many injured workers in the oil and gas industry, chemical plant workers, and others choose to file personal injury lawsuits. A successful oil field injury lawsuit can help you get the best possible compensation.
You need to seek the advice of an aggressive, experienced legal team with a track record of success against powerful oil and gas companies to receive the maximum compensation for your chemical fire accident or oil refinery injuries.
What types of chemical plant injuries and refinery accidents are eligible for compensation?
Chemical fires, plant explosions, and oil refinery accidents are common causes of serious injuries or death. These tragic events are often caused by defective equipment, poor facility maintenance, and inappropriate use of chemicals.
Plant Explosions
Chemical plants can be dangerous because they deal with highly flammable, toxic materials daily. To keep workers safe from chemical burns, gas inhalation, gas fires, and propane explosions, it is essential to have proper worker training and strict equipment maintenance.
The following factors can cause plant explosions:
- Failure of electrical equipment
- Failure to inspect equipment for combustible gases leaks
- Maintenance of a boiler that is not working properly
- Training workers in safety is not enough
- Incorrect chemical quantities
- Use of impure chemicals
- Substandard raw materials/coal dust
Common injuries from plant explosions include:
- Bone fractures
- Scarring and chemical burns
- Loss of limbs
- Lung damage
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Severe burns
- Shrapnel laceration
- Spinal injuries
- Traumatic brain injury/brain damage
- Vision lose / hearing loss
Workers at a petrochemical facility or plant may often be left with minor injuries after an explosion. However, they could develop health problems many years later. Inhaling dangerous carcinogenic gases from explosions can cause cancers such as leukemia.
Chemical fires
Chemical plant maintenance and facility upgrades can be dangerous. This could lead to toxic gas leakage that can cause fires or chemical burns. Workers can also mishandle equipment or combustible materials if oil and gas companies do not invest in training. This can lead to disaster.
Chemical fires can be caused by:
- Safety protocols not being implemented
- Inadequate inspection of equipment
- Faulty electrical equipment
- Training employees incorrectly
- Equipment that is no longer in use
- Equipment that has been overheated
- Unsafe chemical storage systems
Chemical fires can cause common injuries, including:
- Respiratory Damage / COPD
- Eye irritation/chronic dry eyes
- Blurred vision
- Chronic migraines
- Nausea and vomiting
- Internal organ damage
- Burns of the first, second, and third-degree
- Dizziness
Workers injured in chemical fires can not immediately notice any problems, just as with the plant explosion injuries. Many chemical fire injuries, such as watery eyes, dizziness, nausea, and breathing problems, are not related to the fire at the job site.
A complete physical can help you get financial compensation if you have further health problems.
Refinery Accidents
Refinery workers can also be injured by oil refinery accidents that involve coking units and pumps, desalters, and treatment and storage tanks. Refinery owners often try to save money by using outdated equipment. This is a significant cause of all refinery accidents.
The following are common causes of oil refinery accidents:
- Inspections of the daily facility are not sufficient
- Equipment corrosion / sulfidation
- Equipment cracking and stress corrosion
- Failure to practice regular emergency drills
- Failure to comply with OSHA safety regulations
- High-temperature hydrogen attack (HTHA) equipment damage
- Proper chemical storage
- Repair or replacement of equipment that is not in good condition
- Inadequate safety protocols
- Training for refinery workers is not complete
- Equipment that is not well maintained
- Use of impure, contaminated materials
Oil and gas companies are well aware of the risks involved in working with chemicals, crude oil, and other highly flammable substances. If a company fails to take proper safety precautions, it owes all parties who were hurt financial compensation.
Do I have the right to file a Refinery Worker Accident or Plant Explosion Injury Lawsuit?
Many chemical plant injuries and accidents involving refinery workers are due to company negligence. This could be negligence by the employer, equipment manufacturer, contractor, or other third-party company.
Workers injured due to negligence may be eligible for financial compensation beyond workers’ compensation.
If any of these conditions are present, you may be eligible for total financial compensation.
- Company negligence
- Defective equipment
- Storage protocols that are not correct
- Failure to supervise
- Inadequate worker training
- Safety inspections at job sites that are not regularly scheduled
- Violations of the OHSA
- Poor equipment maintenance
Oil refinery managers and chemical plant owners should be aware of high-risk situations. They must also be taking every precaution to avoid injuries and minimize the risk to their employees. The company could be held responsible if it can be shown that the refinery owners failed to take all reasonable steps to protect their employees.
It doesn’t matter if a company’s negligence caused you injuries. An experienced oil refinery accident lawyer or industrial plant injury attorney can help you explore all options.
How can Our Oil Refinery Accident Lawyers help?
Our chemical plant refinery explosion attorney work to recover full financial compensation for workers who have been injured by negligent manufacturers, plant owners, and third-party contractors.
Our superior investigators work closely with industrial safety authorities, medical experts, and specialized engineers to establish company responsibility. We search for evidence of defective machinery maintenance, improper chemical storage, negligence safety practices, OSHA violations, and other unacceptable company actions.
We have successfully represented crew members in accidents at oil refineries and chemical plants across Texas.
You or a family member who has been hurt or killed in an industrial accident should be entitled to the highest financial compensation.
The stages of a Texas Slip-and-Fall Lawsuit
If you’ve been hurt in a slip and fall accident, and all attempts to negotiate compensation with the property owner’s insurer have failed, it might be time to file suit. Slip-and-fall lawsuits in Texas have very specific requirements.
To evaluate your case, you should consult a Texas premises liability lawyer. An attorney can help you determine if you can prove that someone else is 50 percent or more responsible for your Texas slip and falls. Texas law does not allow you to recover compensation if you are more than 50% at fault for your injury.
A person filing a lawsuit (the plaintiff) must first draft and file a Petition with the appropriate court. Texas does not have jurisdiction over all types of cases.
Texas courts require fact-pleading. This means you must give specific facts about what happened and show that these facts correspond to the elements relevant to your case. Your case will be dismissed if you fail to complete this crucial step.
These are the elements of a Texas slip and fall case:
- The property owner in which you were hurt owed you a duty of care and failed to fulfill that duty.
- Your injury was caused by the property owner’s inability to exercise proper care.
- Verifiable damage that you have suffered as a result. These could include medical bills, lost earnings, or other items. These items are called special damages. They must be mentioned separately in your lawsuit filing.
- After your petition has been filed, you must answer your allegations in court. The petitioner must answer all motions made by the defendant.
The Discovery Stage
The case is now ready for discovery. This stage is where the defendant and petitioner ask each other about the case. For example, the petitioner might be required to provide copies of medical records. You may also be asked to provide copies of any policies regarding the maintenance of the area in which you fell. A medical exam may be necessary.
The defendant will likely take your deposition. This is a formal procedure where the defendant’s attorneys ask you questions about your case and medical history. While your lawyer will assist you, you must provide your answers.
Each side will likely file additional motions to the court after completing the discovery process. Sometimes, the court might require that the parties work with a mediator to resolve the matter or negotiate their settlement.
Texas Slip & Fall Trial
If there are still issues, the case will go to trial. A judge will usually hear both sides’ arguments and evidence. Then, the judge will decide whether the defendant is responsible for your injuries. The court will determine the amount you are entitled to in damages. Your petition may not include everything you requested. Based on actual damages, you may not get everything you requested if the court considers your request too high.
In cases where more than one defendant is involved, if any defendant is found to have at least 50% liability, the defendant may be held responsible for all damages. This is a joint liability.
If you win the case and are awarded damages, the defendant can file an appeal to request that a higher court overturn the verdict. This is to correct any errors made by the trial judge. Even if your appeal fails, it can delay your receiving the money you have been awarded.
Even if the case is over, it doesn’t mean that the defendant will write you a check. Depending on the case, your lawyer might need to pursue payment through different means.
