{"id":222185,"date":"2026-03-26T23:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T23:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/222185\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T23:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T23:19:08","slug":"san-antonio-based-valero-energy-hit-with-lawsuit-over-port-arthur-refinery-explosion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/222185\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio-based Valero Energy hit with lawsuit over Port Arthur refinery explosion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AA photo shows Valero\u2019s Port Arthur refinery at dusk. Credit: Wikimedia Commons \/ Library of Congress<\/p>\n

A worker purportedly injured in Valero Energy\u2019s Monday-night refinery explosion<\/a> in Port Arthur has sued the San San Antonio-based oil-and-gas company, alleging it failed to properly maintain its equipment, Reuters reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The claim, filed in Jefferson County District Court in East Texas, seeks more than $1 million in damages, according to Reuters. Plaintiff Jonathan Jaimes said in the filing that he received injuries to his back, neck and spine in the blast and now suffers from \u200bpost-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n

Valero officials had no comment to Reuters on the suit. However, in an earlier statement<\/a> to Reuters it said all employees had been accounted for following the explosion. <\/p>\n

Jaimes was inside the \u200bPort Arthur refinery when a diesel hydrotreater blew up, shaking homes as far as 11 miles from the facility, one of 14 refinery operations Valero runs in North America and the UK. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis was \u200bnot an \u2060unavoidable accident \u2014 it was the result of gross negligence and a flagrant disregard for worker safety,\u201d Kyle Findley, \u200ban attorney at Arnold & Itkin, which is representing Jaimes, \u200btold Reuters via email. <\/p>\n

\u201cValero had awareness of the risks at this facility and chose to ignore them,\u201d the attorney added. \u201cWhen a company shows that kind of \u2060disregard for \u200bthe safety of its workers and the \u200bsurrounding community, it must be held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

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