Earlier this week, we discussed the different types of injuries workers face at chemical and oil refineries. Today, we’ll discuss the many different parties that are often involved with a personal injury suit.

Simply put, refinery cases are complicated. They do not operate like ordinary workplaces. Multiple companies may be on site at the same time during startup, shutdown, or during repair work. So when something goes wrong, the central question is usually not just “who owned the refinery,” but “who controlled the work, who created the hazard, and who failed to prevent it?” That is why serious refinery injury cases require a comprehensive analysis at every company that had a role in the event.

Generally, however, liability for refinery cases typically falls to the plant operator, a contractor, a maintenance company, an equipment manufacturer, a property owner, or another third party.

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The Plant Owner or Refinery Operator

The refinery operator is often the first person investigated. Operators are typically responsible for ensuring a safe and efficient environment. This means that they must develop and enforce safe working procedures, maintain equipment and equipment integrity and coordinate the site. When a contracting crew opens a valve that blasts superheated steam at another set of workers, it’s usually the refinery operator that is at fault for not coordinating the injured crew away.

Some of the most common reasons that operators are found liable are deferred maintenance and outdated procedures.

The BP Texas City disaster remains one of the clearest examples of incompetency as liability. In its final report, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board found that “organizational and safety deficiencies at all levels of the BP Corporation” caused the March 23, 2005 explosion. The blast killed 15 people, injured 180 more, and occurred during startup of the isomerization unit after the raffinate splitter tower was overfilled; the CSB also noted that all fatalities occurred in or near office trailers placed close to the hazardous area. OSHA later described its 2005 penalty against BP as a then-record $21 million, and later issued additional record penalties tied to failures to correct hazards.

That case matters because it shows how liable operators build a system of negligence that resulted in severe injuries and wrongful death. The issue is not only the final explosion or release. It is the chain of decisions before it: outdated procedures, poorly managed startup, inadequate hazard control, unsafe siting of occupied trailers, and a general failure to address known risks.

Contractors and Subcontractors

Refinery accidents frequently happen during maintenance and turnaround work, when contractors are performing specialized tasks inside an operating or recently shut-down unit. A contractor may be liable if its employees perform work unsafely, bypass isolation steps, ignore permit requirements, remove components improperly, or fail to stop work when conditions are dangerous. While we just talked about refinery operators being responsible for site coordination, it also falls on contractors to follow those procedures, or act safely if they do not exist. Regardless, a refinery operator may still share liability with subcontractors if he or she fails to supervise, coordinate, or communicate hazards properly.

The 2021 LyondellBasell La Porte chemical release illustrates this overlap in liability between the plant operator and contractors. The CSB reported that a chemical release of 100,000 pounds of acetic acid during a maintenance event killed two contract employees and led to 30 other personnel being transported for evaluation or treatment. In its report, the CSB said the incident was caused by inadvertent removal of pressure-retaining components from a plug valve during actuator removal. The cause? A lack of procedures, lack of training, and insufficient oversight of the contractor task.

Equipment and Component Manufacturers

Some refinery cases also support product liability claims. If a valve, alarm, control system, scaffold component, pressure-relief device, pump, or other piece of equipment was defectively designed or manufactured, the company that made it may become part of the case. That is especially true where the design created a hidden danger that ordinary workers would not recognize in time.

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That same LyondellBasell case is a useful example here. The CSB found that the primary contributing factor was a plug valve design. The plug lacked sufficient features to prevent the inadvertent removal of pressure-retaining components.

Engineering firms and Maintenance Providers

Refinery operations often depend on outside companies for inspections, mechanical integrity work and engineering review. If one of those entities signs off on unsafe work, misses an obvious hazard, or performs its role negligently, that party may be partially liable as well. For example, the 2019 TPC Port Neches explosions were ultimately found to have occurred due to a failure to identify “dead-leg” issues – a common and reasonable inspection element for refineries. The incident occurred after a piping section ruptured and released butadiene that ignited. According to the CSB, popcorn polymer had accumulated in a temporary dead leg created when a process pump was taken out of service, and the investigation identified failures in dead-leg identification and control as well as failure to implement a 2016 process hazard analysis recommendation that could have helped prevent the rupture. TPC later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2022.

For an injured worker or family, that kind of event raises broader questions than operator fault alone: Who was responsible for hazard reviews? Who was supposed to identify temporary dead legs? Who handled inspection and integrity management?

Corporate Structuring

One difficult aspect of liability for these types of cases is that many companies employ a complex corporate structure. Each company or subcompany always points the finger of blame at the other, and no one accepts responsibility. For example: when multiple affiliated companies operate under related names but divide responsibilities on paper. This is one of the reasons that refinery companies focus so heavily on contractor work – to divide responsibility.

Unfortunately, corporate structuring can also bleed into repayment issues. Employers sometimes enter bankruptcy in an attempt to avoid repayment. The TPC Port Neches matter is a reminder that companies can go through Chapter 11 after a major event.

A Note on Third-Party Liability

Texas is unusual because private employers are not required to carry workers’ compensation coverage. If an employer does carry workers’ compensation insurance, it is generally protected from most lawsuits by injured employees. However, Texas guidance notes an exception for death caused by negligence. If the employer does not carry workers’ compensation, the worker can sue the employer. However, Texas law also allows any employee to seek damages from a third-party, even if they would otherwise fall under the worker’s compensation system.

For more information on third-party liability, read our third-party liability article here.

Hire a Texas Refinery Accident Attorney

Refineries are complicated, and so is determining liability when a worker is injured. The refinery operator may be liable for unsafe procedures or deferred maintenance. A contractor may be liable for how the job was performed. A manufacturer may be liable for a defective valve or other component. The real question is not who was present at the site. It is who had the power to prevent what happened and failed to do it.

Hilda Sibrian has investigated refinery accidents for over 22 years. Her office has represented clients injured in refinery fires and explosions, and knows what it takes to find who is liable in a refinery accident. The Law Offices of Hilda Sibrian serve the Houston metropolitan area, including Sugar Land, Missouri City, La Porte, Beaumont, Pasadena, The Woodlands, The Heights, Bellaire, Kingwood, Baytown and of course Houston proper. Call our office today or fill out our online contact form for a free consultation.