DEER PARK, Texas – A lawsuit was filed on behalf of three Shell chemical plant contractors, nearly one week after the Deer Park facility caught fire.
The suit, which was filed by the law firm of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner is seeking $1 million in damages for each of the three workers.
Benny Agosto Jr. is the managing partner of Abraham Watkins. He says three workers said they got concerned when they saw a cloud of fumes.
“As they start gathering their equipment to get out of there to get away from the cloud that was forming, they saw a Shell worker, an operator, someone dressed in Shell uniform running past them,” he said.
Agosto is representing the three contractors, who claim they were exposed to harmful hydrocarbons.
“The OESHA standards and the laws affecting chemical plants are specific that they have to contain all chemicals in the pipes, vessels and tanks,” he said.
The lawsuit claims Shell failed to warn workers about dangerous conditions until it was too late.
“There was an ignition. They didn’t see it, but they heard the whoosh or the big boom and then when they looked back, they saw the fire ball starting and, at that point, they are running for their lives,” Agosto said. “They are too close for comfort.”
He said they have documentation from at least 30 clients who suffered injuries to their knees, backs, necks, and shoulders.
“We want to protect the workers and by doing quick inspections, filing a lawsuit to preserve the evidence, we can then find out what really happened and why,” he said.
KPRC 2 reached out to Shell several times about the lawsuit and after no answer, we finally reached a person who said there was no comment at this time.
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