Refineries serve an important purpose in our country. Just about every industry relies on the fuels that these factories produce. In many cases, these fuels power our automobiles and homes. While frequent use and exposure to them may seem to suggest that they are without risks, these fuels are quite dangerous because they are highly combustible.
Unfortunately, machines that are either designed or manufactured poorly may be prone to exploding when they handle these flammable fuels. When this happens, individuals in the blast radius or nearby may suffer serious injuries or even death.
Design and manufacturing defects are the two primary kinds of product defects. A design defect is an inherent flaw in the way a machine works. As such, any machine in a particular product line will likely be plagued with these defects, which usually means that it is widespread. These defects are usually met with recalls to reduce the amount of damage that these machines can do. You should contact an expert Houston refinery explosion lawyer for better compensation.
Manufacturing defects, on the other hand, are perhaps more worrisome because the problems are not widespread. Products containing manufacturing defects are usually isolated, so only a handful of machines in a particular product line will be affected. Recalls of these products tend to occur much more slowly due to the defects’ sparse nature so that they may be the most likely culprits in refinery explosions.
Individuals who suffer injuries in refinery explosions resulting from faulty equipment may be entitled to financial compensation for their injuries. In some cases, individuals may be entitled to compensation from both the factory that exploded and the faulty machinery manufacturer.
Refinery Management Negligence
Refineries are responsible for turning crude oil into the more useful products that we use to fuel our homes, automobiles, and industries. These refineries tend to be large operations that utilize experienced managers’ skills and resources to make sure that the refinery workers do their jobs.
Unfortunately, many managers fail to perform their duties properly. This negligence on the part of the managers may lead to great dangers for those working in the refineries and the surrounding areas.
The most common negligent actions of which refinery managers are guilty are:
· Violating OSHA safety regulations
· Under-training, their employees
· Under-staffing their refineries
· Failing to meet building code standards
When managers perform these negligent actions, refineries can quickly become dangerous places. Since these factories deal primarily with combustible substances, many of these accidents involve explosions and fires.
Explosions and fires are often very damaging not only to buildings and structures but also to individuals within the blast radii. In many cases, individuals caught in the blast radii may suffer:
· Severe burns
· Lung damage from smoke inhalation
· Death
When accidents result from managerial negligence, the owner of the refinery where the accident occurred is usually at fault. This is usually a large oil corporation, as they own most of the refineries in the United States.
Since these large companies usually have large and experienced legal teams, pursuing legal action may be difficult and even intimidating. Regardless, victims of refinery explosions, whether they are employees or unfortunate citizens near the factories, deserve to be compensated when management fails to do its job.