Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

ABC Channel 13 News has posted a brief report on an explosion at the KMTEX chemical plant near Port Arthur, Texas that has injured 3 workers and killed one worker. The incident happened around 2:00PM on Thursday March 31, 2011.  Apparently an explosion was followed by a flash fire. A Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy named Rod Carroll is quoted as telling KFDM-TV of Beaumont that the explosion involved gasoline that was being processed. Another statement credited to Jefferson County Emergency Management Coordinator Greg Fountain was that a 500 barrel fuel tank had exploded. Two of the injured workers were airlifted, one to Memorial Hermann Hospital and one to John Sealy Hospital in Galveston. Another was taken by ambulance to Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont.

KMTEX’s web site identifies the company as a specialist in the custom processing of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals, oleochemicals, agricultural chemicals, and food grade chemicals. The plant is located at 2450 S. Gulfway Drive, Port Arthur, Texas 77641.

KMTEX chemical plant near Port Arthur, scene of a deadly explosion on March 31, 2011

The Houston Chronicle also provided coverage of the KMTEX explosion. The Chronicle article indicates authorities will be investigating how a flammable solvent remained in a pipeline workers were welding when the explosion occurred. According to unnamed witnesses, one of the workers was welding a pipeline that contained coal tar naptha solvent when the fire occurred: the workers thought all of the solvent had been evacuated from the line. Naptha is a by-produce of crude oil and is highly flammable. According to authorities, one of the injured workers suffered a head injury and another had fractured legs.

Our thoughts are with the friends and family of the deceased worker and the three men injured in the blast. Smith & Hassler believes that the hard-working men and women of the Houston energy industry deserve a safe working environment and should be able to expect to return home safely at the end of each work day. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a plant explosion, call our experienced personal injury attorneys right away.

Fortune 500 company Enterprise Products issued a press release (click here to view the press release) on February 9, 2011 regarding the explosion and fire at its Mont Belvieu, Texas gas plant that left contract worker and father of two Rick Shaw dead. In the press release Enterprise Products does not identify Rick Shaw by name and the company extends its: “…condolences to the family and friends of the worker and will be working closely with authorities to determine the cause of the fire.”

The bulk of Enterprise Products‘ press release went on to explain that the explosion did not damage certain key components of the gas plant and that Enterprise Products‘ operations were minimally impacted. Assuredly the explosion has had more than a minimal impact on Rick Shaw’s 12 and 13-year old daughters and other family members.

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured at work, including in a plant explosion, call the experienced personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for advice on your legal rights.

Enterprise Products employee Kelvin Horton has filed a lawsuit against the company for injuries Horton sustained in Tuesday’s explosion at the Mont Belvieu, Texas gas plant that killed father of two Rick Shaw. Horton’s attorney has also against for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) for prevent the cleanup at the Enterprise Products plant from continuing until outside engineers are able to go to the site for an inspection. The lawsuit is Cause No. 2011-08949; Kelvin Horton v Enterprise Products Partners, L.P.; In the 269th Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas. Presiding Judge Dan Hinde will rule on the request for the temporary restraining order next week. ABC News’ story can be viewed here.

If you or a loved one have been injured at work, call Smith & Hassler’s experienced personal injury attorneys for advice on your legal rights. Often after highly publicized incidents, particularly those resulting in serious injury or death to employees, company lawyers and insurers move fast to protect the company. Getting legal representation early by a firm such as Smith & Hassler that exclusively practicespersonal injury law protects the interests of injured workers or vulnerable, grieving families. After a major incident such as a plant explosion, big companies have their insurers and attorneys working hard to protect them: if nobody is protecting you, call Smith & Hassler now.

A federal and state investigation has begun into events leading up the explosion at Enterprise Products‘ Mont Belvieu gas plant that killed contract worker and father of two Rick Shaw, earlier this week. Since 2004 the Enterprise Products plant has paid thousands of dollars in fines for serious violations that include at least one other death.

The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) opened its investigation Tuesday, shortly after the fire began. Once OSHA‘s investigation is complete the details will be made public. Enterprise Products is conducting its own probe, and two State of Texas agencies will investigate the plant’s pipeline safety and also whether the plant violated air emission standards.

In 2005 a flash fire at the Mont Belvieu Enterprise plant burned and killed a worker who was overseeing a valve replacement. The plant has paid nearly $30,000 in fines since 2004 for a number of violations deemed serious by OSHA. In September two workers were hurt at BP’s Texas City refinery, the site where 15 workers were killed and 170 more were injured in a 2005 explosion. The workers were rushed to hospital with steam burns.

In 2005 Enterprise Products paid just over $12,000 in fines, a lesser amount than the $18,900 OSHA initially assessed against the company for the prior fatal incident in 2005. Based on Enterprise Products’ history at the Mont Belvieu plant, it certainly appears that the plant’s management were forewarned of safety issues. Unfortunately an OSHA investigation isn’t always enough: it sometimes takes a highly publicized lawsuit to take a company to task on their failures to keep workers safe, the BP Texas City refinery being a prime example of just that. This is particularly true in tragic circumstances such as the death of Mr. Rick Shaw, who leaves behind two daughters depending on him for love and financial support.

If you or a loved one have been injured at work, call Smith & Hassler‘s experienced personal injury attorneys for advice on your legal rights. Often after highly publicized incidents, particularly those resulting in serious injury or death to employees, company lawyers and insurers move fast to protect the company. Getting legal representation early by a firm such as Smith & Hassler that exclusively practices personal injury law protects the interests of injured workers or vulnerable, grieving families.

Smoke plume from Enterprise Products Mont Belvieu gas plant explosion that killed contract worker Rick Shaw can be seen for miles.

Wednesday February 9, 2011: Sadly a contract worker who has been missing since an explosion at the Enterprise Products gas plant in Mont Belvieu has been found dead. The explosions were heard at Enterprise Products plant on Sun Oil Road on Tuesday at 12:15PM. The company said the fire broke out at a storage tank of the west side of the facility. A leak was detected in the plant’s control room shortly before the explosion, and workers said they heard a hissing sound shortly before the blast. The fire was out by early Wednesday but officials were not able to go in right away because it was still too dangerous. Shortly after the explosion contract worker Rick Shaw was not accounted for, and Mr. Shaw was thought to have been working in the area of the plant where the explosion occurred. Mr. Shaw was found dead Wednesday night: he was from Crosby, Texas and worked for Louisiana-based Turner.

ABC Channel 13 reports that Mr. Shaw was 43-years old at the time of his death and was known to his family as Ricky. Mr. Shaw’s family were notified of his death by Enterprise Products, however told Eyewitness News they were disappointed by the lack of information they’d been getting from Enterprise Products. Rick Shaw’s sister said he was a contract worker who would take all the overtime hours he could get because he needed all the money he could get to take care of his two young girls. A family spokesperson said they were thrown off the property Wednesday when they went to speak to Enterprise Products officials. Charles Adams, who indicates he is married to Rick Shaw’s niece, said “…they are not telling us anything….”

The Houston Chronicle reported that Rick Shaw’s brother, Mark Shaw, said that he was told by one of the workers working along side Rick that Rick was inside a large gas cloud at the time of the explosion. Mark Shaw and Debbie Shaw (Rick’s sister) described Rick to the Chronicle as being hard-working and devoted to his 12 and 13-year old daughters. Debbie Shaw said that Rick loved his job and was a very dedicated worker.

Rick Shaw of Conroe, TX - victim of the Enterprise Products gas plant explosion in Mont Belvieu, TX. Mr. Shaw leaves two daughters, aged 12 and 13.

If you or a loved one has been injured at work, call a personal injury attorney at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation and advice on your legal rights.  Smith & Hassler‘s practice has been dedicated to representing injured Texans for more than 20-years.

Explosion at Enterprise Products Mont Belvieu gas plant that killed contract worker Ricky Shaw