© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Marathon Petroleum banner outdoors the El Paso refinery in El Paso, Texas, U.S., October 1, 2018. REUTERS/Julio-Cesar Chavez/File Picture
By Erwin Seba
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Attorneys representing the household of a employee who was killed in a fireplace at a Texas Metropolis, Texas refinery and two different staff who have been hospitalized mentioned on Wednesday they’ve filed or would quickly file damage claims in opposition to high U.S. oil refiner Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:).
An worker killed within the fireplace was the second fatality on the refinery this 12 months and comes amid a sequence of fires at U.S. refineries and petrochemical vegetation since January.
Scott Higgins, a 55-year-old machinist, was killed and two contract workers, together with Eduardo Olivo, have been injured in a fireplace at Marathon’s big Galveston Bay Refinery on Monday morning.
Olivo and the third employee, who has not been recognized, have been workers of Mistras Group (NYSE:) Inc, which supplies assist to refiners. Olivo acquired second- and third-degree burns, his lawyer, Muhammad Aziz, mentioned at a information convention this week.
An investigation is underway, Marathon spokesperson Jamal Kheiry mentioned, declining to supply additional info.
The three have been performing preventative upkeep on the plant’s Ultraformer-3, which converts naphtha produced in oil refining to reformate, an octane booster for gasoline.
The unit is the bigger of two Ultraformers on the 593,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Galveston Bay Refinery, the second-largest in america. The repairs have been meant to maintain the unit in operation till a deliberate overhaul subsequent January, based on folks accustomed to the matter.
“We can be suing Marathon and the opposite entities” for gross negligence over Higgins demise, Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee mentioned on Wednesday. “Marathon put its income over employee security,” he added.
Olivo was burned and “intends to convey negligence, premises legal responsibility and/or gross negligence” claims over his accidents, legislation agency Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner mentioned in a court docket submitting.
Higgins was the second employee to die on the Marathon refinery this 12 months. A contractor was electrocuted on Feb. 28.
On March 23, 2005, when the refinery was owned by BP (NYSE:) Plc, 15 contract staff have been killed and 180 different folks have been injured in a explosion brought on by an overflowing refinery unit.
