$159 Million Verdict for Workers Burned in Valero Refinery Explosion

On March 6, 2012, a crew of contract workers climbed a two-story platform at Valero Energy's refinery in Memphis, Tennessee, to block off a south flare line during a scheduled maintenance turnaround. Without warning, a volatile rupture sent what one report described as 'liquid fire' cascading across the platform. One worker, Nicolas Cuevas, was killed. Five others suffered severe burns, including one man with burns covering 70 percent of his body.

The survivors and the family of the deceased worker filed suit in Harris County District Court, retained Tony Buzbee, and named Valero along with a cluster of contractors who had roles in managing the turnaround work. The central allegation: the flare line had not been cleared of flammable hydrocarbons before workers were sent in, and no automatic firefighting equipment was in place. According to court filings, injured workers spent more than five minutes trying to extinguish flames with no assistance, and more than ten minutes passed before trained emergency personnel arrived. The incident was the third fire at the Memphis facility within two years.

All but one defendant settled before trial. Critical Path Resources, the company responsible for scheduling the turnaround work, chose to litigate. It argued that any negligent decisions about flare-line clearance happened after its scope of work had ended. The jury rejected that defense but assigned the company only 6 percent of the fault.

The jury apportioned 70 percent of the negligence to Valero, 14 percent to JVIC, 6 percent to UP Professional, 3 percent to Certified Safety, and 1 percent to Taylor Technical. The $159 million award, covering mental anguish, pain and suffering, disfigurement, physical impairment, and medical expenses, carried no punitive component. It was returned on August 6, 2015.