Bonnie McGill has filed a lawsuit against Marathon Petroleum Company, LP, Blanchard Refining Company, LLC, Mistras Group, Inc., Universal Plant Services, and Flowserve Corporation in the District Court of Harris County, Texas. The case ID is 2024-28590 and was filed on May 3rd, 2024. The plaintiff alleges negligence on the part of the defendants leading to an explosion at her workplace which resulted in personal injury and environmental damage.
The incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. on May 2023 when an explosion took place near Ms. McGill's work area causing her to fall and sustain injuries while attempting to escape. The fire from the explosion continued for four hours releasing toxic compounds into the air.
According to the plaintiff's petition, this incident was foreseeable and preventable as the defendants failed to properly build, manage, inspect, maintain and repair Ultraformer Unit #3 and its surrounding machinery. Specifically mentioned are a broken pipe and pump in the unit along with a nearby cracked pipe which are believed to have been caused by excessive vibrations due to negligent construction and maintenance.
McGill is seeking damages within the jurisdictional limits of the court for her injuries sustained during this incident as well as for environmental damage caused by the release of toxic compounds into the air following the explosion.