Navigation Chemical Plant Explosions
Bill Adler: Welcome to Hammer TV, everybody. Today we’re going to talk about refinery and chemical plant accidents and injuries. Chemical plant explosions can have devastating results. Today we’re going to talk about preventing refinery and chemical plant explosions, and things of that nature. So can you lead us off and tell us a little bit about that?
Jim Adler: Yeah, Bill, let me just tell you something. These refineries and chemical plants they can be dangerous places to work for the workers that are there, the gasoline refineries, the crude oil coming in, the chemical plants, what have you, the plastics plants, the polybutylene plants, all of the different activities that are going on in these refineries. It’s been shown in Popular Mechanics that many refinery explosions occurred during, or after spring maintenance.
Bill Adler: That’s right.
Jim Adler: So most refineries will shut down for part of the year, and that’s when the maintenance is performed, and when the plant is ready to transition, or turn around to refined gasoline for the coming season, all the equipment is turned back on. That’s when accidents can happen because you know why?
Bill Adler: Why is that?
Jim Adler: Because there’s an extensive checklist of some 30,000 different procedures that have to be followed exactly.
Bill Adler: To a T.
Jim Adler: Exactly, and guess what happens if not every one of those 30,000 items is done properly?
Bill Adler: A large, large explosion like we’ve had recently here in Houston.
Jim Adler: Yeah. It seems like in 2019 it’s just been terrible with all these different explosions. There was just one here in Houston about a month ago where a plant blew up just out of the blue for no reason. Injured, killed three people, destroyed a whole neighborhood, just terrible. During the transition period is the time when all the workers are called back to the plant, and that’s why the number of seriously injured, or sadly, deceased people can sometimes be so high.
Bill Adler: That’s right.
Jim Adler: Do you want to hear about the key to good refinery safety?
Bill Adler: Sure. Tell me a little bit about that.
Jim Adler: Okay. The key to good refinery safety is to make sure that all those 30,000 checklist items are followed to the T because if you don’t follow every procedure, and prevent refinery explosions. You’ve got to be on top of that and keep a close eye on routine maintenance throughout the plant. One missed maintenance assignment can mean that a tragedy can occur, and then a problem goes unsolved, and can devastate families, and wives and children of refinery workers who were injured and husbands.
Bill Adler: That’s true. That is certainly the case.
Jim Adler: It is just sad.
Bill Adler: Jim, why don’t you tell us a little bit about liability issues and oil refinery explosion what those liability issues are?
Jim Adler: Well, the thing about it is there’s the owner of the refinery who has responsibility. There’s all the contractors that have responsibility. There’s all kind of workers, pipefitters, welders, different crew members, different construction companies working out there, and at some point it just becomes a massive buck passing contest where everybody is saying everybody else has liability and everybody’s trying to say that the other person is at fault.
Bill Adler: Let’s discuss third-party cases in the big case versus the little case. Can you tell us a little bit about the big case and the little case?
Jim Adler: Well, sure. I’m glad you asked because it’s tricky.
Bill Adler: It is tricky.
Jim Adler: And people don’t understand the difference between the little case, which is your Workers’ Compensation case. So if you’re hurt on the job, you’ll have a right to make a claim against the insurance company for your employer, the Workers’ Compensation carrier, and you’re going to get medical benefits, and you’re going to get limited weekly checks, and then you may get lifetime medical benefits. The big case is going to be your third-party liability case against the person whose not your employer, who caused the explosion to occur, or caused you to get injured. So you got your little case your Workers’ Compensation case.
Your big case is going to be your explosion case where you recover your lifetime loss wages, your medical bills for your burn injuries. You’re not going to be able to work again sometimes. So you’re going to have diminished earning capacity. You’re going to go from making 20 or $30 an hour to making minimum wage, and you’re entitled to recover the differential, your lifetime pain and suffering, your mental anguish, all these elements. The 30 elements of damages that are not covered in a Workers’ Compensation case are your big money damages in a third party case. Okay?
Here’s another thing about refineries that people should know. Refineries, chemical plants, oil and gas processing plants, plastic plants, fertilizer plants, every day people are injured in these huge industrial facilities. It may not be an explosion. It can be some kind of other injury, a back injury, a leg injury, any kind of injury. So if you’re hurt on the job, you may have a third-party case if you were working at a refinery, or a chemical plant, or any kind of industrial facility. These tend to be very serious injuries, and you can be compensated for these.
Bill Adler: That’s right. So if you’ve been involved in a refinery explosion, you need help with your damages, you need help with your case, locking down who truly the responsible party is call Jim Adler & Associates. We can help you out with that case. The best number to call us at is 800-567-7575. Also, we have a lot of information that you can review on the web if you have any questions or concerns. The name of the website is www.jimadler.com. We’re here to help you and your family members. Everybody, thank you for watching Hammer TV. Leave us your comments, your questions, and tell us about future topics you’d like for us to discuss on this show. We would really appreciate it. Thank you.
