Attorneys for Texas refinery workers say they will sue Marathon after fatal blaze

Mistras

17/05/2023 22:39

By Erwin Seba
       HOUSTON, May 17 (Reuters) - Attorneys representing the
family of a worker who was killed in a fire at a Texas City,
Texas refinery and two other workers who were hospitalized said
on Wednesday they have filed or would soon file injury claims
against top U.S. oil refiner Marathon Petroleum  MPC.N .
    An employee killed in the fire was the second fatality at
the refinery this year and comes amid a series of fires at U.S.
refineries and petrochemical plants since January.  
    Scott Higgins, a 55-year-old machinist, was killed and two
contract employees, including Eduardo Olivo, were injured in a
fire at Marathon’s giant Galveston Bay Refinery on Monday
morning. 
    Olivo and the third worker, who has not been identified,
were employees of Mistras Group Inc  MG.N , which provides
support to refiners. Olivo received second- and third-degree
burns, his attorney, Muhammad Aziz, said at a news conference
this week.
    An investigation is underway, Marathon spokesperson Jamal
Kheiry said, declining to provide further information.  
    The three were performing preventative maintenance on the
plant's Ultraformer-3, which converts naphtha produced in oil
refining to reformate, an octane booster for gasoline. 
    The unit is the larger of two Ultraformers at the 593,000
barrel-per-day (bpd) Galveston Bay Refinery, the second-largest
in the United States. The repairs were intended to keep the unit
in operation until a planned overhaul next January, according to
people familiar with the matter. 
    "We will be suing Marathon and the other entities" for gross
negligence over Higgins death, Houston attorney Tony Buzbee said
on Wednesday. "Marathon put its profits over worker safety," he
added. 
    Olivo was burned and "intends to bring negligence, premises
liability and/or gross negligence" claims over his injuries, law
firm Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner said in a
court filing.
    Higgins was the second worker to die at the Marathon
refinery this year. A contractor was electrocuted on Feb. 28.
    On March 23, 2005, when the refinery was owned by BP Plc, 
15 contract workers were killed and 180 other people were
injured in a explosion caused by an overflowing refinery unit.

 (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by David Gregorio)
 ((erwin.seba@thomsonreuters.com; +1 832 746 4269; Reuters
Messaging: erwin.seba.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))