According to state officials, an oil refinery worker exposed to propane and acid at a Valero plant in Memphis, Tennessee succumbed to his injuries and died earlier this month. Firefighters arrived on the scene of the oil refinery accident and found two workers injured by a ruptured sight glass on a pump unit, which exposed them to a dangerous mixture of propane and hydrofluoric acid, reported Memphis Fire Department spokesman Wayne Cooke. One of the Valero workers died at the hospital, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and the other worker, who was a contractor, was transported to an area hospital in non-critical condition. If you have suffered injuries in an on-the-job accident in Tennessee, contact our experienced attorneys at Michael D. Ponce & Associates to discuss your legal options.
A sight glass is a transparent tube or window that allows workers to monitor fluid levels within a pump, pipe, tank or boiler. The Tennessee worker killed in the recent on-the-job accident was the second Valero employee to die this year from a workplace injury. Another man was killed in a March fire at the refinery, which has been cited for various violations related to the safe handling and control of hazardous chemicals and energy, officials have reported. The pump involved in the fatal accident was located at the plant’s alkylation unit, Valero Energy Corp., and two firefighters were also exposed to the dangerous substance in the workplace accident. According to the company, there was no fire or explosion, and the refinery has notified regulatory agencies about the accident, which is under investigation.
Earlier this year, three contract workers suffered severe burns in a fire at the Valero plant, and one died from his injuries. A relative of the deceased worker filed a multimillion-dollar wrongful death and injury lawsuit against Valero in April, a month after the fatal accident occurred. The complaint alleges that the company failed to ensure that there were no flammable or hazardous gases in a flare line, and that there was a failure to provide timely firefighting assistance. After the fire, an inspection was conducted by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the company was cited for nine serious violations and fined $63,000. If you have been seriously injured in a workplace accident in Nashville, or elsewhere in Tennessee, contact our knowledgeable lawyers at Michael D. Ponce & Associates for legal help. You may be entitled to compensation for your on-the-job injuries, which you can pursue by filing a workers’ compensation or personal injury claim against the at-fault party.
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