Six workers were injured in an waterless heater explosion Thursday morning in downtown Houston . According to local news sources, a construction crew was working on a set of tankless water heaters when an explosion occurred, burning several workers and possibly causing more serious injuries to others. Footage from FOX 26 showed that two exterior walls on the top floor of the Holiday Inn Express on Texas Avenue and Austin Street have buckled outwards. As of the time of publishing, additional details have not been released to the public.

Work Site Injuries

The force of the explosion on Thursday was great enough to break the facade of two walls and bow the wall outwards. While it is impossible to know the exact extent of the injuries suffered by the construction workers, explosion accidents (including steam explosions) are known to cause several types of injuries:

  1. Burn injuries – Local news has already reported that several workers have suffered burn injuries to their faces. At this time, it is unclear whether the injury is the result of fire, superheated air, or compressed steam. As the crew was working on tankless water heaters, there is a good chance that their burn injuries were the result of superheated air or compressed steam. Unfortunately, burns, even from steam, can also cause nerve and tissue damage if it is deep and severe enough.
  2. Internal Organ Damage/CTE – Many people do not know that internal organ damage is a common side effect of even mild explosions. This is because the force of the explosion, carried through the air, hits the victim for just a split second. That means that the victim experiences a lot of inertia in a very small amount of time – the same as getting punched. Our organs are delicate, and being rapidly knocked around in a very small amount of time can rupture veins, tear tissue, or cause other issues that are difficult to detect immediately.
  3. Broken Bones – If the crew was blasted back quickly, or knocked to the ground, it is very likely that they suffered a sprain in their wrists or ankles, or that they broke a bone hitting the ground.
  4. Shrapnel Damage/Lacerations – Depending on the nature of the explosion, metal pieces may have been sent towards the crew. The amount of damage that could be caused by shrapnel is varied, but could include puncture wounds and lacerations (deep cuts).

Who is Responsible?

Without more details, and a full investigation, it is impossible to assign blame for this tragic accident. However, there are a few possible suspects.

  1. Previous maintenance crews – Documentation is everything. If the previous maintenance crews did extremely poor work, failed to report outstanding issues, or generally kept poor documentation, it is very possible that the crew injured Thursday went in without full knowledge of the system at hand.
  2. The hotel – Similarly, if the previous maintenance crew worked directly for the hotel, and not as a third party contractor, responsibility may fall to the hotel for failing to provide accurate information. It could also be the case that the hotel did not follow proper protocol regarding routing or usage during or before the maintenance.
  3. The heater manufacturer – It is possible that the heater (or heater system) may have some defective design. This could include a fundamental flaw in the heat delivery system, an untested edge case, or improper/missing information related to servicing and maintenance.
  4. The crew itself – While it isn’t nice to think about, it is also possible that one or multiple of the servicing crew members may have been responsible for the explosion. Whether due to miscommunication, on-site negligence or other factors, it is possible that some members of the crew or their supervisor were the reason for the explosion.

Related Occupations Prone to Explosion Injuries

For most people, explosions are something that happen in movies and on TV. They aren’t something that happen on a job-site. And while Thursday’s explosion is certainly unusual, it is not unheard of, and there are many other jobs that face the danger of explosions as well.

  • Oil field and rig workers work with high flammable substances all day long. Unfortunately, fire and explosion injuries (along with chronic back pain) are extremely common for this profession.
  • Welders, too, face the risk of explosions. Many welders work with Arc torches – high voltage lines so hot they cause iron and steel to melt. However, many other welders do work with acetylene or oxy-propane – extremely flammable gasses. And while there are many, many precautions in place to avoid combustion, the truth is that welders often throw sparks that can ignite these gasses and cause very serious injuries.

Contact a Houston Personal Injury Attorney for Explosion Injuries

Our heart goes out to the workers injured on Thursday and their families. We hope that you found this article informative and that it helps shed some light on some of the options available to the injured work crew and the real dangers faced by blue-collar workers every single day.

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If you or a loved one have been injured in an explosion accident, make sure you get the medical help you need, then contact an experienced personal injury attorney.

Attorney Hilda Sibrian has served the city of Houston for over 21 years. Attorney Sibrian has created a dedicated team of legal professionals that understand what it takes to win a personal injury case. The Law Offices of Hilda Sibrian serve the Houston metropolitan area as far out as Beumont and Baytown, as well as Pasadena, League City, Cypress, Missouri City, Sugar Land, The Woodlands and the rest of Houston.

Call our office for a free consultation today at 713-714-1414, or fill out the online contact form.