Oil and Gas Refinery Accidents, Injuries, and Death in Texas

What Are the Most Common Causes For Oil And Gas Refinery Explosions? – In the state of Texas, there are multiple oil and gas refineries scattered throughout the state. Refinery explosions happen all too often on land and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. These petroleum facilities are the leading industry for state of Texas.

Gas and oil plants are highly flammable, putting thousands of employees at refinery jobs and residents in surrounding areas close to the refinery at risk for injury and death should an explosion occur. Explosions happen at an alarming rate, and authorities find this escalating record of explosion mishaps troubling.

According to the CDC, up to 2010 and the prior seven years, Texas oil and gas refinery explosions remained the leading cause of injury and death to employees than any other industry. On the job, injury and death from refinery explosions are seven times higher than any other industry. The CDC indicates that these severe disasters are becoming more common and more deadly as evidenced by recent news reports.

There are different common and uncommon reasons for refinery explosions to occur, such as,

  • Careless cigarette smoking
  • Improperly constructed or repaired equipment
  • Poorly maintained equipment
  • Defective or malfunctioning equipment
  • Cooperate negligence
  • Unrealistic corporate demands that forego safety issues first for employees
  • Lack of adequate on the job safety by corporate officials and employees
  • A blowout happens when a sudden and powerful surge of pressure from a well. As this blowout occurs, it is enough to rock the surface. The reason is that the crew is not adequately controlling the drilling and extraction process.
  • Using inadequate equipment and parts causing pressure spikes and debris falling into wells and unsafe pressure levels.

Employees caught in the crossfire of a refinery explosion are frequently severely burned to the point of being permanently injured or killed. Severely burned employees often cannot return to work due to their injuries. Others may suffer many types of injuries, including spinal or brain injuries that prohibit them from ever working again at a refinery or other job.

Given why these explosions occur, corporate officials frequently do not support the employees should an explosion causing injury and death occur. The victims of these refinery explosions must fight for their right to compensation due to wrongful injury and death. In this event, the victim or their spouse, children, or parents can file for compensation.

Victims of any refinery explosion should never fight for their rights without an accident/injury/death attorney at their side who is seasoned in this area of negligence. This seasoned attorney fights for victims’ rights for suitable and more than adequate compensation, whether the fault lies with corporate officials, a negligent employee, or faulty equipment. There are unlimited lists of compensations for a wrongful injury or death lawsuit.

No one enjoys entering into a lawsuit against their company or another employee. However, someone must pay for compensation when you are injured on the job due to someone’s mistake. You likely do not have the funds to pay for all of your costs incurred due to negligence on someone else’s part. Depending on death’s circumstances, the court has been known to award compensation to the surviving family. These awarded damages are meant to punish the person at fault.

Deciding on the compensation and calculating losses is best done by a seasoned attorney whose expertise is wrongful injury and death. This attorney bases the calculations on a specific amount of money. Compensations awarded to the victim or alternative person is a way in which to make the wrongful person pay for all losses, such as found in,

  • Mounting hospital bills
  • Medical expenses before death occurred
  • Emergency room care
  • Bills for all medicines associated with the injury or death
  • Lost wages when the victim cannot work temporarily or permanently
  • Funeral expenses
  • Pain and suffering
  • Companionship loss
  • Loss of parental training and guidance of children
  • Financial and emotional support
  • In-house assistance in living
  • Loss of income to families in the event of death
  • The loss of insurance coverages

Many states have a limit on how long you can let time pass before filing a wrongful injury or death claim. In the state of Texas, it is two years from the injury. Any criminal injury or death claim requires a seasoned attorney to cut through all of the necessary steps. Never think that you can navigate the judicial system alone and without a seasoned attorney because your rate of a successful outcome is low. We want to make sure that you receive all the appropriate compensation you deserve.

You have the difficult job of healing and cannot fight your case in a court of law. Let your attorney deal with and negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf to get all you deserve if you were injured in an explosion or fire. Your attorney does this successfully in a court of law or settlement outside the court system.