Twenty-eight plant workers have filed suit against Valero, saying they were injured in the April 19 explosion that rocked the company’s Texas City refinery.
Twenty-eight plant workers have filed suit against Valero, saying they were injured in the April 19 explosion that rocked the company’s Texas City refinery.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Harris County district court, accuses Valero of gross negligence in the incident. It says the company knew a piping system was insufficient for the chemicals it carried and that “corners were being cut and inspections and repairs were not being done as required, but failed to take measures to remedy the situation.”
The workers say a line inside the refinery’s alkylation unit deteriorated and failed, allowing a sudden pressure release that caused an explosion and a subsequent fire in the depropanizer tower. The explosion could be heard from miles away, and the fire sent a cloud of black smoke into the sky overhead.
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Valero initially reported that no employees were injured, but the lawsuit’s 28 plaintiffs say they have been treated for orthopedic injuries, hearing loss and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Most of them were working on or near the alkylation unit and were injured by tools and equipment as they tried to flee the explosion. Others were on a bus outside and were injured when the blast shook the ground, the suit says.
The lawsuit also names Richard Industrial Group, a Beaumont company that performed subcontractor work in or around the refinery’s alkylation unit.
The 28 plaintiffs seek damages for their injuries, including medical costs and loss of earning capacity, plus court costs.
Valero could not be reached immediately for comment.
