Sorrels Law – Leader In Plant and Refinery Explosion Cases

Unfortunately, these mishaps have become almost commonplace in Texas, such as in Houston and its surrounding areas. Firm Partner Randy Sorrels knows this well. He has been a leader in plant and refinery explosion litigation since the late-1980s, and the Sorrels Law team is ready and equipped to handle these cases. Randy represented 260 injured plaintiffs and plant workers who were present during the deadly October 23, 1989, Phillips Petroleum Company explosion at Phillips’ chemical complex facility near the Houston Ship Channel in Pasadena, Texas. The plaintiffs’ injuries included severe burns and physical impairments. That explosion was triggered by inadequate safety procedures that caused a failure in a valve that carried ethylene. Twenty-three people died as a consequence of that explosion.

In 1996, Sorrels represented three injured plant workers who were performing maintenance work at the MEMC plant in Pasadena when the reactor they were working on exploded. In that case, the jury awarded millions to the three injured plaintiffs based on the defective design of this polysilicone reactor. The defendants in that case included Ethyl Corporation, and the evidence showed that they knew that this product was defective yet allowed it to be used in the plant anyway.

Later, as managing partner of a well-known Houston personal-injury boutique, Sorrels managed a team of lawyers handling hundreds of plant and explosion cases. This includes the 2005 Texas City BP refinery explosion, killing 15 workers and hundreds of others, where he sat on the steering committee on behalf of the plaintiffs.