A serious refinery injury can leave a family trying to answer two questions at once: what will life require now, and who was responsible for what happened? The medical records address part of the first question. The incident report rarely settles the second.
VB Attorneys represents people with catastrophic injuries and families facing wrongful death in Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Southeast Texas. Our work includes industrial incidents, serious commercial truck crashes, and injuries that permanently change a person’s ability to work or live independently. We start with the work being done, the people directing it, and the evidence needed to explain the consequences.
A Beaumont case with a documented result
A rigger was killed during work at an ExxonMobil plant in Beaumont. Vuk Vujasinovic led the family’s case. The defendants’ last offer was $500,000. A Jefferson County jury returned a $44,370,000 Verdict.
The case involved a rigger crushed by an industrial pipe during turnaround operations. A turnaround is a period when equipment is taken out of service for work such as maintenance. Identifying the companies responsible for that work was distinct from identifying the owner of the plant.
For a family evaluating counsel, the useful point is specific: Vuk has stood before a Jefferson County jury in a fatal industrial case and carried responsibility for presenting the family’s evidence. That experience belongs alongside a careful assessment of the facts in your case, including facts that may make it different.
Responsibility follows the work
The company whose name appears on a plant’s sign may not be the company that employed the injured person, supplied the equipment, or directed the operation. A refinery project can involve a property owner, a general contractor, specialist contractors, and equipment operators with different responsibilities.
An investigation must separate those roles. Who planned the lift or maintenance task? Who selected the equipment? Who directed the crew? What hazard had been identified, and who had authority to correct it? A contract may describe one arrangement while work orders and testimony show how the job actually operated.
Texas law can impose particular limits on claims by contractors against property owners. When Chapter 95 applies, ownership alone does not establish liability. The statute addresses control over the work and actual knowledge of the danger, among other requirements. A sound case has to meet the law that applies to the particular defendant. Naming every company connected with a site is not a substitute for that analysis.
The record beyond the incident report
An incident report is a starting point. It should be compared with the documents created before anyone knew there would be a lawsuit.
For an industrial injury, potentially useful evidence includes the work permit, lift plan, equipment inspection history, job safety analysis, photographs, and communications about the assignment. A job safety analysis is the document that breaks a task into steps and identifies hazards and precautions. Its usefulness depends on whether it addressed the work actually performed.
For a crash on I-10 or a route serving a plant, the investigation changes. Vehicle data, dispatch communications, loading information, and the driver’s activities may matter. Our truck accident practice explains that work in more detail.
The records should be tested against each other. A completed inspection checklist may matter less than a photograph showing the condition of the equipment. A witness’s first account may need to be reconsidered when a timestamp establishes a different sequence. Preparation includes recognizing when new evidence changes the assessment.
Measure what the injury changes
A hospital bill does not describe the full consequences of a spinal cord injury, a brain injury, an amputation, or extensive burns. The relevant questions extend beyond the first course of treatment.
Can the person return to the same work safely? Will the home need changes? Does a spouse now provide help that a professional may need to provide later? What medical opinions support those needs, and which remain uncertain? The case should distinguish a documented future requirement from a possibility that has not yet been established.
In a fatal case, the family’s loss also cannot be reduced to wages. The applicable wrongful death and survival claims need separate attention because they address different losses and may belong to different people. Our wrongful death practice explains that distinction.
Tell us what happened
Brian Beckcom and Vuk Vujasinovic are both Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Their roles in the firm’s cases are identified in our case accounts so you can evaluate actual work and responsibility.
If a serious injury or death in Beaumont or Port Arthur has left your family with unanswered questions, call (877) 724-7800. The first conversation is free. You do not need to have the legal theory worked out before you call. Tell us what happened, and we will give you a straight answer about whether we can help.