Were you injured in a refinery or plant accident in Midland, TX?
At Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers, we are refinery accident lawyers who pursue full recovery for injured workers and their families.
If you were injured in a refinery or gas plant incident in Midland, liability may extend to other companies that controlled the equipment or the work, not only to the company that employed you. A Midland, TX refinery accident lawyer identifies each of those companies and the insurance policy that stands behind it.
Both of our founding attorneys handle plant cases. One of them spent nearly a decade defending the companies on the other side of cases like these, and that experience shapes how we prepare a claim for an injured worker. We represent injured workers and their families, never the plant. Call us to arrange a free review of your case.
Refinery Accident Lawyer Midland, TX
A refinery accident attorney represents workers injured by fires, explosions, chemical releases, or equipment failures at refineries, gas processing plants, and petrochemical facilities. Those facilities serve the Permian Basin around the clock. An incident at any one of them usually involves several companies: the owner that operates the plant, the contractors that maintain it, and the staffing agencies that supply its crews. Each of those companies carries its own insurance, and each has reasons to blame the others. We trace the chain of ownership, maintenance, and supervision to the negligence that caused the injury, then pursue each insurer that shares responsibility.
Texas recorded 95 fatal work injuries at industrial places and premises in 2024, according to state workplace fatality figures. Exposure to harmful substances or environments caused 62 of the state’s workplace deaths that year. Explosions and fires caused another 10. Those categories describe the incidents that bring plant workers to our firm.
Types of Refinery Accident Cases We Handle in Midland, TX
Our refinery accident attorneys handle injuries at the processing plants, compressor stations, and midstream facilities that surround Midland. Many workers at those sites are employed by a staffing company or a service contractor rather than by the plant, and that arrangement gives them claims against companies other than their employer. The cause of the incident decides which of those companies are responsible.
- Explosions. A leak of flammable gas or liquid ignites when it reaches a heater, a compressor, or a welder’s torch. We determine where the fuel came from and why an ignition source was live near it. Plant explosion claims often reveal maintenance that had been deferred for months before the fire.
- Chemical releases. Hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, and other process gases injure the lungs on contact. A heavy release can kill within minutes. Chemical release injuries depend on proof of what was released and whether the gas detection system worked as designed.
- Steam and hot fluid releases. A failed gasket or an opened line can spray nearby workers with steam or hot hydrocarbons. The lockout records and the permit for the work being done show whether the line should have been isolated first.
- Equipment failures. Pressure vessels, pumps, and piping fail when inspections are skipped or corrosion is ignored. Inspection histories and repair orders show what the operator knew about the equipment before it failed.
- Turnaround and maintenance injuries. Plants bring in hundreds of contract workers for scheduled shutdowns. Falls, dropped loads, and crush injuries rise during those weeks, when responsibility for safety is divided among several contractors.
- Confined space incidents. Tanks and vessels can hold oxygen-deficient or toxic air. We review the entry permit, the atmospheric testing, and the rescue plan.
- Burn injuries. Flash fires and chemical contact cause burns that require grafting followed by months of rehabilitation. Burn injury claims must account for scarring, future surgery, and lost earning capacity.
- Oilfield accidents. Many Permian Basin injuries occur at gas plants, tank batteries, and gathering systems rather than at a traditional refinery.
- Wrongful death. A family that loses a worker in a plant incident can bring a claim for its own losses. Wrongful death claims after a plant incident cover the financial support the worker provided as well as the family’s personal losses.
Why Choose Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers as my Refinery Accident Lawyer in Midland, TX?
Refinery Defense Experience on the Workers’ Side
Mike Streich defended companies and insurance syndicates, including Lloyd’s of London members, in catastrophic injury cases arising from refinery, pipeline, or oilfield incidents. That work taught him how a plant investigates an injury on its own property and which arguments its lawyers prepare first. He uses that knowledge for injured workers today. Super Lawyers has named him a Texas Rising Star in nine separate years, a recognition limited to 2.5 percent of lawyers in the state.
Matt Greenberg has handled oilfield explosion, plant accident, and chemical release cases for more than a decade. He belongs to the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, an organization of plaintiff’s attorneys founded in 1949. His licenses in Texas, Louisiana, and Arizona allow him to pursue a company in more than one state when a case calls for it. Both attorneys try cases, and a Midland refinery accident attorney at our firm brings that trial record into every negotiation.
Plant and Refinery Recoveries
Our attorneys have recovered more than $348 million for injured clients. That total includes $7,373,750 in a plant and refinery accident case. Oilfield injury recoveries include $2,801,903, $1,865,000, and $1,700,000. Each of those cases required proof of which company controlled the hazard, what it knew, and what the injury cost the worker over a lifetime.
We handle refinery cases on a contingency fee, which means our attorney fees are paid from the recovery rather than by the client. If there is no recovery, there is no fee.
Understanding Refinery Accident Cases
What Should You Bring to Your Refinery Accident Consultation?
A refinery accident lawyer in Midland, TX can begin an investigation with the documents a worker already has, so bring whatever you were given or asked to sign after the incident.
- Any incident report, injury report, or statement you were asked to sign
- The names of your employer, the plant owner, and the contractor in charge of your crew
- Medical records and bills from the first treatment onward
- Photographs of the unit, the equipment, or your injuries
- Letters or calls from any insurer, employer, or plant representative
The consultation is free and confidential, with no notice to your employer required. You will leave the meeting knowing which companies we consider liable and which records we would demand first.
What Is The Refinery Accident Case Timeline?
A refinery accident case begins with preservation demands and ends with a settlement or a jury verdict. The length of the stages in between depends on how many companies are involved.
- First days. We send preservation letters to the plant owner, your employer, and each contractor on the unit. The letters cover incident reports, permits, maintenance records, and video.
- First months. We obtain the plant’s internal investigation, any OSHA file, and the contracts that assign safety duties among the companies. Process safety consultants then review the equipment and the procedures.
- Treatment. Your doctors determine the extent of the injury and the care you will need. We wait for that outlook before placing a value on the claim, because a demand sent too early leaves future care out of it.
- Demand and suit. We present the claim to each insurer. We file suit in Midland County, or wherever the responsible companies can be sued, when the insurers refuse to pay fair value.
- Discovery and trial. Depositions of plant managers, safety personnel, and contractor supervisors follow. A case that remains unresolved after mediation is tried to a jury.
Plant cases with several defendants usually take longer than a year, because each company argues that another one was in charge of the hazard.
What Are Important Aspects of a Refinery Accident Case?
Three questions decide most plant injury cases, and a Midland, TX refinery accident attorney addresses all three at the start.
- Who controlled the work. The plant owner, the general contractor, and the subcontractor each had some control over the unit. The contracts and the daily work permits show which of them was responsible for the hazard that caused the injury.
- What the records show. Plants keep inspection logs, management of change records, and incident histories. Those documents often prove that a company knew about the condition before the injury occurred.
- When suit must be filed. The Texas filing window for most injury suits is two years from the incident, and a family’s deadline after a fatal incident begins on the date of death. Evidence at a plant changes much sooner than that, so the investigation cannot wait for the deadline.
The Midland Fire Marshal’s Office investigates fires within the city, and its findings become part of the records we gather when a fire or explosion occurred inside Midland.
Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Refinery Accident Cases
A plant injury claim rests on proof of negligence. A plant owner that ignored corrosion, a contractor that skipped gas testing, and a manufacturer that sold a defective valve each failed to use reasonable care. The injured worker must prove that failure and show that it caused the injury. Texas treats a claim against your own employer differently from claims against the other companies on site, so we evaluate both at the outset.
Damages in a plant injury case begin with medical expenses and lost wages, but lost earning capacity is often the largest component. A worker who cannot return to plant work has lost years of income, and the claim must account for all of it. Noneconomic damages cover physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement, and physical impairment. A jury may add exemplary damages, but only when gross negligence is shown by clear and convincing evidence.
Collecting those damages requires finding the insurance to pay them. Each company involved carries its own policy, and large operators carry several layers of coverage. A refinery accident lawyer identifies every policy before negotiating with any of them.
Reach Out to Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers to Schedule a Consultation
A Midland refinery accident lawyer will review your case at no cost before you sign anything from the plant or its insurer. We will tell you which companies we believe are responsible and what the claim requires. There is no fee unless your case produces a recovery. Every new inquiry receives a prompt response from one of our attorneys. Contact us to arrange a free consultation about a plant or refinery injury in Midland, TX.
