TEXAS CITY, Texas – A lawsuit has been filed a day after the deadly fire at the Marathon Petroleum refinery in Texas City.
The lawsuit, which was filed by the Abraham Watkins law firm, is on behalf of a worker who claims he was hospitalized with second- and third-degree burns as a result of the fire.
On Monday, around 9:30 a.m., several emergency crews responded to the fire, which erupted at the Galveston Bay Refinery unit #3 located at 2938 5th Ave S. The fire lasted for several hours and left one employee dead, according to officials.
The lawsuit claims the fire was started when a splitter pump developed a leak and caught fire. It also claims the fire consisted of multiple industrial and toxic chemicals. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which is the environmental agency for the state, did not release a report but did say they were no longer conducting air monitoring Tuesday morning.
As a result of the fire, the employee, Eduardo Olivo, said he was transported to UTMB Galveston Burn Unit for second- and third-degree burns to his hands, wrists, arms, face, neck, and ears. He says he continues to suffer from chest pain, blurry vision and headaches.
“These last few weeks we have seen several plant fires in the Texas Gulf coast region. These workers are being severely injured, and their lives are changed forever. Today’s filing is the first step in the investigation process,” said attorney Mo Aziz.
At the same time, we are learning a lot more about the man who was tragically killed while working at the plant.
55-year-old Scott Michael Higgens was a millwright and a union steward who was performing maintenance work at the Ultraformer 3 unit, an octane boosting unit at the northwest corner of the plant.
Union officials say he was working with two other men when he was trapped by the flames.
His family told KPRC investigative reporter Bill Spencer that he was so badly burned he died right there at the plant.
Spencer spoke face to face with his two daughters, Samantha and Alyssa, who say their father was a hard working, loving man, who played trumpet in the Sam Rayburn High School Marching Band and treasured classic cars, including his pride and joy, a 1965 Pontiac Tempest.
His daughters say they have heard almost nothing from Marathon officials and they want concrete answers as to how this explosion happened and exactly what happened to their father.
Fires at refineries in the area are not uncommon. Earlier this month, a fire at a Shell facility in Deer Park sent nine workers to the hospital and caused massive plumes of smoke.
In March, an explosion and fire at a facility owned by INEOS Phenol in Pasadena left one injured.
The fire comes after a 2005 explosion — one of the worst refinery explosions in U.S. history — left 15 dead and 180 others injured at this same facility, which was then owned by BP. It was sold to Marathon in 2013, renamed the Galveston Bay refinery and in 2018 merged with another Marathon facility to become what it is today, according to previous statements by BP and Marathon.
The Abraham Watkins law firm will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. to further discuss the lawsuit. KPRC 2 will live stream the event.