Refinery Explosion Lawyers
It is no secret that workers at oil refineries are exposed to extreme dangers, and in particular, the danger of being the victim of a refinery explosion. Nearly every major oil refinery deals with chemicals and processes that can lead to major flash fires or explosions. Many of the cases we handle at Morrow & Sheppard involve workers who have suffered permanent, life-changing injuries due to the negligence of companies and contractors working at oil refineries. When you are injured at a refinery, you need to make sure you get the representation you need to hold these companies accountable.
Why Do Refinery Explosions Happen?
Turnarounds: Because of the coordination involved at refineries, explosions often happen when contractors miss important details in the planning and preparation of jobs. For example, it is common for refinery explosions to happen during turnarounds, which occur infrequently and involve a significant degree of coordination to make sure everyone is doing their job right. Often, procedures and policies get lost in the process and the persons responsible for safety do not do their job right, leading to injuries.
Improper Isolation: Another source of explosions is the build-up of confined flammable materials in pipes or other containers that were improperly isolated. When this improper isolation is not communicated to other workers on site, unplanned and uncontrolled releases occur, which then leads to explosions.
Failure to Implement Safety Regulations: Many times, companies are unaware of key OSHA regulations, or simply ignore these regulations entirely. Contractors on site may rush through JSA’s and safety meetings, ignoring dangers that could be avoided. Operators may choose to overlook isolation or other mechanical issues, because addressing them would require shutting down portions of the refinery while those parts are fixed. Unfortunately, the age-old expression of profits over people rings true in many refinery explosion cases.
Failure to Plan: Other times, companies and contractors simply fail to plan appropriately. For example, certain changes at refineries require companies and contractors to undergo a management of change. When companies and contractors fail to conduct a management of change, they fail to consider key dangers that lurk in changes being made at the refinery.
Failure to Staff, Supervise and Train Workers: Finally, refinery explosions may occur due to the failure of companies and contractors to appropriately staff, supervise, and train workers on site. Many workers may not know the appropriate procedures to handle emergencies when something goes wrong, leading to explosions. A lack of adequate supervision or proper staffing can lead to the workers on site having limited time and resources to address issues at the refinery that could turn into bigger problems. When workers don’t receive enough help, mistakes can occur and explosions can hurt others.
What Is a Refinery Explosion Case Worth?
While every case is different, juries have shown a willingness to award significant damages in the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars per victim in refinery explosion cases. This can be due to two factors. First, because these explosions are often preventable, the jury may be shown evidence that the companies that caused the explosion could have avoided it but did not. Second, refinery explosions are devastating in scope and frequently cause workers on site to suffer from catastrophic injuries that affect them for life.
For example, a worker who is close to the site of a refinery explosion is likely to suffer significant burns all over his body. Due to the force released in a refinery explosion, workers can be thrown from the scene of the explosion and can suffer additional injuries when they hit the ground or other nearby objects. Even if the worker is wearing personal protective equipment, the force and heat of the blast from a refinery explosion can knock hard hats off and can cause heat-resistant clothing to disintegrate.
A jury considering what to award in a refinery explosion case will take these injuries into account. They will evaluate how these injuries affect the injured worker, and how they are likely to affect the worker for the rest of their life. A worker who is badly burned in a refinery explosion may need skin grafts and may not be able to tolerate extreme heat or extreme cold in the same way they could before the explosion. They may need to wear special clothing that gives them extra protection from the elements due to the long-term damage done to their body. They may require one or more medical procedures, and, depending on their injuries, they could continue to need medical procedures for the rest of their life.
Finally, a jury will also evaluate your pain and suffering and mental anguish as a result of a refinery explosion. Workers involved in explosions are likely to suffer their own significant pain and anguish due to their injuries and are also likely to experience mental trauma and even post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of what they witnessed in the explosion. Many workers who have suffered injuries in a refinery explosion will continue to suffer from chronic pain for the rest of their lives, and a jury will take this into consideration when determining what to award in your case.
Why Do I Need a Lawyer in a Refinery Explosion Case?
It is important to consult a personal injury attorney early on when you suffer injuries in a refinery explosion. Your refinery explosion attorney can demand that the companies and contractors responsible for the explosion preserve relevant evidence and allow inspection of the equipment and materials that led to the explosion. You also may have a limited time to bring your claims. In Mississippi, you have three years to file a lawsuit, while in Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama you only have two years from the date of the incident to file a lawsuit. Once a lawsuit is filed, you will need a refinery injury attorney who is willing to fight vigorously to hold these companies responsible. Often, refinery explosion cases take years to resolve and require an extensive fact-finding process, including many depositions, to get to the truth of the matter. That is why your lawyer’s experience in handling these cases matters.
Examples of Refinery Explosion Cases
Our refinery explosion law firm is well-versed in handling complicated explosion cases. Recently, we have resolved two important cases on behalf of workers injured at refineries. The first involved a worker who suffered significant injuries at a refinery connected to an important shipping port, while the second involved a worker injured when an explosion occurred at a disposal facility associated with the oil refining process. In both cases, we were able to obtain highly favorable results for our clients after fighting vigorously on their behalf.
Contact The Refinery Explosion Attorneys At Morrow & Sheppard
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a refinery explosion event, contact the lawyers at Morrow & Sheppard. In our free consultation, we’ll discuss the specifics of your case, the laws that apply, how damages and settlements are determined, and what our ‘no fee unless you win’ policy means for your family.
