[BSH] Jury finds negligence in 2008 refinery explosion

For the second time since the 2008 explosion that rocked the Big Spring Refinery, a Howard County jury found owner Alon USA guilty of negligence and awarded local residents damages but failed to find gross negligence.

The jury found Alon USA negligent in the Feb. 18, 2008, accident that caused extensive damage throughout the surrounding area, and awarded actual damages — the estimated cost to repair the homes and properties damaged in the blast — in cases brought by Manuel Hernandez, Marissa Zamora Hernandez, David Higgins and Janet Higgins, the plaintiffs in the case.

The jury awarded the Hernandez couple $10,800 for damages, while the Higgins received a judgment of $55,500. However, for either couple to receive damages beyond those represented by actual repairs to their property — such as pain and suffering allegedly caused by the accident — the jury would have had to have found Alon USA guilty of gross negligence, which it did not.

Story courtesy of the Big Spring Herald

According to court records, for the jury to have entered a decision on the third and fourth questions of the court's charge, they would have had to be unanimous in their decisions for actual damages. No decision was entered on the third and fourth charges, which determined whether or not the company was guilty of gross negligence.

The jury also signed a sheet included with the charge in the case, which they were directed to do if they failed to reach a unanimous decision.

The lawsuit had alleged that the explosion, which destroyed much of the refinery and shook the area for miles around, was caused by negligence on the part of Alon USA and its subsidiaries.

The plaintiffs were represented by the Pinkerton Law Firm, based out of Webster, Texas.

The jury was seated and testimony began Aug. 1, with the trial reaching into the evening hours several times during the week, according to court officials. The jury returned their decision late Monday afternoon.

A similar trial held in December 2010 — involving plaintiffs Beverly Smithie and Ron and Debra Walker — yielded more than $350,000 for property repair and medical expenses for the pair of plaintiffs named in the cause, finding that Alon had been negligent.

The jury awarded damages for Smithie in the amount of $236,605 for property damage and $8,400 for medical expenses. The Walkers were awarded $105,200 for property damage and $10,200 for medical expenses in the December proceedings.

The jury in the 2010 trial also failed to find Alon USA guilty of gross negligence, awarding only actual damages.

While last week's trial has come to a close, there is still a very long line of plaintiffs with lawsuits pending against the company in connection with the 2008 explosion. More than 150 people have been named in the suit.

According to witness accounts, the cause of the explosion was a propylene tank leak that caused a mist-like vapor to gather in the refinery, eventually making its way into a cat cracker heater and an alkaline unit, causing both to explode simultaneously.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at citydesk@bigspringherald.com