Plant and Oil Refinery Explosions
Workers in the petrochemical industry face hazards and deadly dangers every single day. For those who work at refineries and chemical plants, sudden death or devastating injury is just one misstep away. If you or a loved one were injured in a plant explosion, the injuries and disabilities can forever change your lives. These accidents are often so severe that workers do not survive the blast and fires. All too often, the injured suffer unimaginable pain and disfigurement in what short lifespan they have left. Unfortunately, the U.S. leads the world in these tragic deaths from plant explosions. The heat from these refinery and plant explosions can reach over 1000 degrees, and workers outside the “kill zone” of the blast can suffer horrible injuries, including third-degree burns, crushing injuries from blown debris, and broken bones.
If you were injured due to an oil refinery accident, fill out the form on this page, or contact us at 800-375-0109 for a free case consultation. Junell & Associates, PLLC does not charge any upfront costs and there is absolutely no fees, unless we win your case.
What Causes These Terrible Explosions?
In some cases, it begins as a small flame, such as a spark from a dropped wrench, but due to the chemicals and flammable materials, it quickly spreads out of control. In other cases, employers or employees failed to use ordinary care in maintaining equipment and machinery. Poor maintenance too often leads to serious mistakes that can cause electrical fires or improper mixing of volatile chemicals. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets guidelines with the force of law for oil and chemical businesses to follow. When plants fail to abide by these standards and a serious accident results, the factory owner/employer can be liable for any injury that was caused. The law also requires employers to train their workers adequately. A lack of training in operating machinery or using personal protective equipment violates safety regulations and can result in an employer being found liable for all the injuries that resulted from their lack of care.
Accident records are often hard to find, but the evidence they hold may prove shocking. They can reveal that unsafe working conditions that could have been easily fixed caused the explosion. In other words, the devastating explosion was entirely avoidable.
All too often, accident investigations reveal that the cause is a lack of proper maintenance and care. The Texas City refinery explosion of 1947 that killed 576 people and injured 5000 was one of the worst refinery accidents that the United States has ever seen, and it was caused by failure to abide by safety regulations. A tragedy that could have been avoided by following the rules and simple safety standards.
How Junell & Associates Can Help You
The experienced legal team at Junell & Associates is dedicated to fighting for the rights of workers injured in refinery and chemical plant explosions and other industrial accidents. By talking to a personal injury lawyer from our team, you could receive experienced legal counsel and find out whether you have a case. Because these accidents are so commonly caused by careless actions or inaction and could often have easily been avoided, we are committed to getting innocent victims of that negligence the compensation that they rightfully deserve. We do not charge our clients unless we successfully resolve their case, which means you don’t have to pay anything upfront. Our firm understands how difficult the time after an accident can be.
If you or a loved one have been the victim of one of these terrible accidents, we’re here to help you. Contact us at the number above or fill out the form on this page today!
