Gas Refinery / Oil Refinery Explosion Lawyers
The company that owns a refinery is responsible for ensuring worker safety. Furthermore, the company’s management has to answer to the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), which sets safety standards and guidelines. But because of the high amount of chemicals and volatile substances in the workplace, there is still a high potential for injuries and accidents in a refinery.
Refinery explosions and accidents can cause serious injuries such as severe burns, internal and external chemical burns, bone fractures, back and spinal chord injuries, paralysis, brain injuries and death. But despite the fact that explosions often result in multiple deaths and injuries, workers can generally only recover workers’ compensation benefits. Exceptions to this are if faulty equipment from a third party was involved in the explosion or if there was gross negligence on the part of the company.
An example of the latter occurred in March 2005 when in a Texas City BP refinery explosion, 15 workers were killed and another 170 workers were injured, most of them seriously. Ensuing investigations concluded that lack of equipment maintenance and multiple safety violations led to the explosion. Furthermore, had it not been for the quick response of emergency personnel, people living in surrounding areas could have also been exposed to dangerous chemicals.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) found BP liable for lack of proper safety procedures and problems with the plant’s equipment. And while the CSB is a governmental entity without enforcement authority, their findings continue to assist injured workers and the families of those who were killed to receive compensation with regard to their claims.
If an explosion has taken place at a refinery where you work or near your home, there should be a thorough investigation not only by government agencies, but also by experts in the oil field and by experienced refinery accident lawyers. The lawyers should look into whether a sub-contractor or third party should bear part of the responsibility for the accident. They should also collect as much evidence as possible in a timely manner, including photographs and witness statements.
If you or your loved one is fortunate enough to not have been involved in a refinery accident, there are things you can do to help prevent an explosion from happening. If you are aware of a safety hazard at the refinery where you work, you should first report it to your supervisor. If after a reasonable amount of time no action has been taken to correct the problem, you should either report the hazard to a manager above your supervisor or to the OSHA office nearest you.
There are numerous “whistleblower” laws to protect you from your company retaliating against you for reporting a safety hazard. And by reporting a safety hazard, you just may be guarding the health or saving the life of some of your co-workers.
Please call one of our experienced industrial accident attorneys if you or a loved one has been injured in a refinery explosion or accident. We may be able to help.
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