A chemical plant in Texas was due for its periodic “turnaround.” A planned deep cleaning and maintenance of equipment, turnarounds are regular events that take place periodically. Notably, the turnaround required that the facility temporarily close and halt production, incurring significant lost revenue. The plant had hired teams of external contractors to perform the turnaround in three steps in a specific order: (1) inspection, (2) cleaning, and (3) maintenance. However, rushing to kill two birds with one stone, the chemical plant had the cleaning and maintenance crews work at the same time. The cleaning crew used high-pressure water blasters to remove flammable, sludgy hydrocarbon waste called coke from a closed vessel. Meanwhile, the maintenance team was doing “hot work” (i.e., welding) nearby. As the cleaning crew’s hydro-blasters scraped away the coke, combustible vapors from the agitated sludge filled the vessel and wafted toward the maintenance team. Among them, an experienced welder was performing his duties on a platform. A man in his 30s, he was the breadwinner for his family and loved what he did for a living. As he worked, the coke vapors met static electricity caused by the pressurized water. In a flash, skin-searing flames and metal shrapnel ripped through the vessel in an earth-shattering explosion. The young welder and his family’s lives were altered unimaginably.
The blast blew the welder off the section he was perched on. At that moment, the explosion sent a metal plug through his hard hat — essentially scalping him. Had the impact been a half-inch lower, he would have died. Nevertheless, the blast left shards of metal embedded in his scalp. In addition, the welder experienced fractures to his shoulders and knees as he slammed to the ground, and he lost several fingers. He could never work as a welder again.
About a week after the explosion, attorney Muhammad “Mo” Aziz of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner in Houston, Texas, connected with the injured family man. Mo had worked with a client before in a separate but similar incident. With his knowledge about chemical plant explosions, he accepted the case and got to work. Mo quickly learned the magnitude of the situation and severity of the injuries. He started compiling evidence of what happened and why. He was determined to get the man and his family the best outcome for all that they had endured.
The blaring question on everyone’s mind was what caused the explosion. What ignited the coke vapors? Mo needed to dissect and pinpoint three critical factors of what’s called the Fire Triangle:
To do so, Mo brought together a team of experts in the following areas: liability, explosions, OSHA procedures, and contractors’ standard of care. Once Mo identified the explosion’s cause, he could then assess the extent of the explosion's damage.
The chemical plant had formidable legal teams at the ready, both internal and external. The world of chemical plant operators appeared impenetrable. Its own little universe, they had a tight grip on the environment, procedures, and protocols — more specialized than most workplaces. That control presented a significant challenge for Mo, who needed to prove that the Defense had not followed protocol as properly as they were presenting. The Defense had immediately fortified their position and safeguarded their facility safety procedures to shift blame for the explosion onto the contractors. There were a slew of boundaries they had put up for liability of the incident. For instance, they claimed the contractors didn’t properly monitor the interior atmosphere of the vessel, and the cleaners had mounted their machines incorrectly. The Defense was determined to pass blame for the cause of the welder’s injuries. They placed workers’ compensation between the Plaintiff and Defendant for payment. In their minds, it was workers' comp that the Plaintiff had to deal with for damages, not them. Did it matter that had the plant followed their own protocol the welder wouldn’t have been on-site while the cleaning crew was performing their work? The Defense argued that answer was no.
Piece by piece, Mo leaned on his team of experts to dismantle the Defense’s liability arguments. He built a series of arguments from his Fire Triangle research. First, there was no dispute that the contractors were working in an oxygenated space, which accounted for the air source. Second, the air modeling expert identified the air in the vessel was at an explosive level from cleaning process — that accounted for the fuel source. And finally, expert investigation discovered that static electricity from the pressurized water created the heat for ignition. Mo had successfully demonstrated that the explosion originated from the cleaning process. However, the plant’s protocols were specific: cleaning could only begin once inspection was completed; and maintenance could only begin once cleaning was done. In other words, the welders should not have been at the plant at the time of the explosion. They were there, though, because the plant wanted to cut corners and save time.
With his theory of liability in place, Mo needed to show the damages inflicted upon the Plaintiff and how he suffered afterward. A blast modeling expert who demonstrated the blast's force was onboard to explain impact to the body. Combined with medical experts, the case required detailed visuals that Mo could show to a jury. Having worked with them before, Mo contacted DK Global, knowing they would provide the quality animations he needed.
DK Global’s presentation started with animations of the Plaintiff’s damaged scalp, including swelling and a contusion in the left parietal soft tissue. Next, it featured the amputation and flap coverage of his left thumb distal phalanx, left index finger distal phalanx, and excisional debridement of the left thumb and index finger. Details of the subcutaneous tissue and bone were shown in vivid detail. From there, animation of a 1mm anterior falcine subdural hematoma and an x-ray image were displayed. A look at the C5-C6 anterior cervical discectomy and artificial disc replacement followed. Additionally, left knee arthroscopy with partial medial and lateral meniscectomy was included. It was a head-to-toe look at what the Plaintiff went through — including all the metal embedded in this man’s skull.
Mo, the experts, and DK Global ensured the presentation was ready for a jury. The video also included a policy violation counter that tracked 78 violations as it played out. Mo presented the presentation during mediation. With the overwhelming evidence, the Defense couldn’t come back with much to counter. Nevertheless, the Defense waited until the eve of trial to bring the case to conclusion. Only days before jury selection, they approached Mo with a high eight-figure offer. The victim and his family never thought the day would come when some accountability and justice was served. With the settlement, the Plaintiff and his family could rest a little easier and try to close a traumatic chapter in their lives.
Muhammad “Mo” Aziz has been a partner at Houston-based Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner since 2012. He specializes in personal injury trial law. Currently, he represents over 5,000 veterans and active service members. Mo’s success has led him to be selected for inclusion on the Texas Super Lawyers, Top 100: Houston Super Lawyers, and Top 100: Texas Super Lawyers lists. He was also recognized as “Attorney of the Year” in 2021 by Texas Lawyer Magazine and ALM Media, as well as earning the Excellence in the Legal Profession Award in 2022 by the Muslim Bar Association of Houston.
