Louisiana Pipeline Explosion Lawyers

Undefeated Louisiana Pipeline Accident Attorneys

A vast network of pipelines serves as the backbone of Louisiana’s thriving energy economy.

In fact, as of 2024, nearly 125,000 miles of oil and natural gas pipelines ran through the state and within its jurisdiction in the Gulf of Mexico. These vital transport lines underlie every major highway, railroad and navigable waterway in Louisiana, providing thousands of well-paying jobs related to pipeline operation, maintenance, and construction. 

Unfortunately, there is a significant downside to these economic benefits. The fact is, pipeline work is inherently dangerous, and the men and women who keep the gas and oil flowing face a constant threat of explosions, fires, and toxic exposures every day they’re on the job.

If you or someone you love were hurt in connection with a Louisiana pipeline explosion or accident, you should not rely on the pipeline company to “make things right” for you and your family. In our experience, they have only one goal: to avoid responsibility and limit your financial recovery to what little workers’ compensation benefits you’re owed, even if that means blaming you for the accident, casting doubt on the true extent of your injuries and and “losing” or misplacing critical evidence proving the company was at fault.

Undefeated Louisiana Pipeline Explosion Lawyers: Call 1-888-603-3636  or Click Here for a Free Consultation

After a Louisiana pipeline explosion or accident, it’s critical that you take immediate steps to protect your rights and your family’s future. 

Having represented over 500 injured Louisiana pipeline workers and recovered the largest settlements in history, our undefeated pipeline accident lawyers have the resources, knowledge, and skills to successfully take on the largest pipeline companies in the world and secure our clients the resources needed to access the best medical care available and provide for themselves and their families for the rest of their lives.

Call 1-888-603-3636, chat with us through our website, or Click Here to send us a confidential email through our “Contact Us” form.

All consultations are free, there’s no commitment involved, and you won’t owe us anything unless we win your case.

The Lousiana Pipeline Industry

Louisiana’s oil and gas industry could not exist without onshore and offshore pipelines. Not only do they connect production areas with refineries and chemical plants, but they also make it possible to efficiently deliver crude oil,  natural gas, and petroleum products to millions of homes and businesses throughout Louisana and across the United States.

Some of the most critical Lousiana pipeline systems include:

The ANR Pipeline

The ANR pipeline transports natural gas from Louisiana, Texas, and the Oklahoma panhandle to the Midwest and Great Lakes region. It is one of the nation’s largest natural gas pipeline systems, with a peak capacity of 10 BCF/D.

Colonial Pipeline

The Colonial Pipeline transports gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel from Texas through Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast into the Port of New York and New Jersey. At 5,500 miles, it is the longest pipeline system in the nation for transporting refined petroleum products.

 Bayou Bridge Pipeline

The Bayou Bridge Pipeline is a crude oil system that connects Louisiana’s production regions to refineries and export terminals. It runs through 11 Lousiana parishes, from Lake Charles to St. James. Completed in April 2019, the Bayou Bridge Pipeline was a joint venture involving Energy Transfer Partners and Phillips 66.

Enbridge Pipelines

Enbridge operates several onshore and offshore pipeline networks that run through Louisiana:

• The MidLa transports natural gas from southern Louisiana to northern Louisiana through Mississippi.
• The UTOS system gathers gas from the offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico and brings it into Louisiana and Alabama. 
• Owned by subsidiary Enbridge Offshore, the Garden Banks Pipeline is another offshore system that brings natural gas into the UTOS network. 
• The Mississippi Canyon Pipeline transports gas from the Mississippi Canyon region of the Gulf of Mexico into Louisiana.
• The Nautilus Pipeline moves natural gas from offshore production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico to onshore processing plants in Louisiana. 

Mississippi River Transmission Pipeline

Running along the Mississippi River, the Mississippi River Transmission pipeline transports natural gas from Louisiana to the Midwest. It is owned and operated by CenterPoint Energy.

Plantation Pipeline

The Plantation Pipeline transports refined petroleum products from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, through the coastal states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. A branch from the main Plantation pipeline also extends into Tennessee.

Sea Robin Pipeline

The Sea Robin Pipeline is an offshore natural gas system that transports gas from production platforms in the Ship Shoal area of the Gulf of Mexico to onshore processing plants in Louisiana. Its West Area lines connect with the Henry Hub, a distribution hub of the natural gas pipeline system in Erath, while its East Area lines connect to processing plants near Morgan City.

Southern Natural Pipeline

Southern Natural operates one of the nation’s largest natural gas pipeline systems, transporting gas from the Gulf Coast to the southeastern United States. This massive network is owned by Kinder Morgan and operated by its Birmingham, Alabama-based Southern Natural Gas division.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline

The Tennessee Gas Pipeline is a major natural gas system that transports gas from the Gulf of Mexico through Louisiana to markets across the eastern United States. Operated by another Kinder Morgan subsidiary, the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, the 11,900-mile network is one of the largest pipeline systems in the country.

Williams Transcontinental Pipeline 

The Williams Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco) is a natural gas pipeline that transports gas from the Gulf Coast of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, ultimately delivering gas to the New Jersey and New York City area. 

Trunkline Pipeline

The Trunkline Pipeline is a natural gas system running from the Gulf Coast through Louisiana to the Midwest. Connected to the Henry, Egan, and Perryville Hubs, it is operated by the Trunkline Gas Company, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners.

Recent Louisiana Pipeline Explosions and Accidents

 According to one report, the pipeline industry’s on-the-job fatality rate is, on average, 4.3 times higher than the average rate for American Workers overall,  and reached heights of seven times greater than the national average in both 2005 and 2009.  Louisiana has experienced more than its share of pipeline failures in recent years, including several that caused workers to suffer severe and even fatal injuries:

Chevron LPG Pipeline Explosion

In March 2013, a tug boat towing a barge struck and ruptured a Chevron LPG pipeline at Bayou Perot, resulting in an explosion that severely burned the vessel’s captain. Sadly, he died several weeks later from those injuries.

Willaims Geismar Explosion

In June 2013, an explosion at the Williams Olefins Plant located in Geismar, Louisana, tragically killed two workers and injured more than 100 others, some severely. Investigators later determined that the explosion had resulted from the failure of a heat exchanger linked to a pipeline that had broken loose from the distillation tower. The blast erupted when a propylene chemical leaking from the pipeline came in contact with an ignition source. According to investigators, the pipeline had been damaged for six months.

Our firm represented over 60 workers injured in the Williams Geismar explosion and reached record-setting settlements on their behalf, despite the company’s attempts to limit our clients’ financial recovery to workers comp benefits.

Chevron Offshore Pipeline Explosion

In September 2014, a Chevron offshore pipeline exploded 6 miles south of Timbalier Bay off the southeast coast of Louisiana. A contractor performing routine maintenance on the pipeline was killed in the blast, and two others were injured.

Williams Gibson Pipeline Explosion

In October 2015, a natural gas pipeline violently exploded at the Williams Partners plant in Gibson, Louisiana, killing three contractors and seriously injuring two others. The blast occurred as the workers were conducting scheduled maintenance on the “slug catcher,” a device responsible for collecting large flows of oil and gas traveling through a pipeline. 

Our attorneys also recovered record-setting settlements on behalf of one of the workers killed in the Williams Gibson explosion, as well as seven others who were injured.

Phillips 66 Pipeline Explosion 

The Phillips 66 pipeline in Paradis, Louisiana, exploded in February 2017, tragically killing one worker and critically injuring two others. The blast also caused significant damage to the surrounding area, including residential homes, and sparked a fire that burned for several days. Investigators later determined that failure in the control system had allowed gas to accumulate in the pipeline and eventually ignite.

Whitney Oil & Gas Pipeline Explosion

In August 2024, an offshore natural gas pipeline operated by Whitney Oil & Gas exploded off the coast of Venice, Louisiana, near South Pass, leaving a contractor dead. Initially reported unaccounted for, the remains of the deceased worker were found the following morning. 

Why Do Pipelines Fail? 

Because they carry volatile liquids and gases, any type of pipeline failure risks a catastrophic accident or explosion with the potential to cause significant environmental and property damage, severe injury, and even death. However, in our experience, these failures typically occur because of a pipeline operator’s willingness to cut corners and ignore safety standards and regulations in the pursuit of higher profits.

Some of the most common causes of pipeline accidents and explosions include:

• Corrosion: Left untreated, corrosion can weaken a pipeline, leaving it more susceptible to overpressure events, earth movement, and other external stresses.  According to the Liquid Energy Pipeline Association’s 2023 Annual Report, corrosion was a factor in 23 percent of the liquid pipeline failures reported during the previous five-year period.

• Excavation: Pipelines can rupture if struck during digging, grading, trenching, or boring operations. Excavations contributed to roughly 3 percent of the liquid pipeline failures during the five years prior to 2023.

• Material/Weld Failure: Defectively manufactured materials or improperly welded pipeline components are a recipe for disaster. Material and weld failures caused roughly six percent of the pipeline incidents tracked by the Liquid Energy Pipeline Association.

• Equipment Failures: Pipeline explosions and accidents can occur when pumps, compressors, valves, meters, tanks, and other components fail to operate as intended. Equipment failures are the leading cause of pipeline disasters, contributing to 46 percent of the liquid pipeline incidents reported in the five years prior to 2023.

• Operator Error: Opening the wrong valve, overfilling a tank, overpressuring a piece of equipment, or other errors made by pipeline workers can result in catastrophic failure. Incorrect operation played a role in 15 percent of the pipeline accidents and explosions logged by the Liquid Energy Pipeline Association.

Providing pipeline workers with the training and supervision needed to perform their jobs safely, ensuring they have the necessary protective equipment, and close adherence to federal and state regulations related to inspections, maintenance, and worker safety are all critical to preventing potentially deadly pipeline explosions and accidents. Nevertheless, our attorneys are aware of too many disasters resulting from the company’s failure to prioritize worker safety over increasing profits.

Unless pipeline operators are forced to take responsibility and FULLY compensate those they’ve injured, profits will always come first, and pipeline workers will continue to be seriously injured and tragically killed in catastrophes that could (and should) have been prevented.

What to Do After a Lousiana Pipeline Accident Explosion

When a Louisiana pipeline explosion or accident results in severe or fatal injury, the company knows they’re potentially looking at millions of dollars in liability. That’s why they spring into action immediately, hire a team of high-powered attorneys, and do everything possible to avoid responsibility and pay you as little as possible. 

If you were hurt or lost a loved one working on a pipeline, you must act just as quickly to protect your rights and your family’s future. Otherwise, you stand little chance of ever receiving the maximum compensation possible for all of your injuries and losses:

• Inform your supervisor immediately so the incident is documented.
•  Seek medical attention from the healthcare provider of your choice. The insurance company may want you to see one of their doctors, but you are not obligated to do so.
• DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING other than the official incident report. No matter what they say, you are not required to sign anything else or provide a recorded statement to the company or its claims adjuster. In fact, any admission about the accident will undoubtedly be used against you, so it’s in your best interest not to interact with them at all.
• Write down the names and contact information of any witnesses, as well as the time and date the incident occurred. If you’re physically able, take pictures of the accident scene and anything that may have caused your injury. 
• Do not accept or even discuss a settlement offer with your employer or its insurance company until you have consulted an experienced pipeline explosion lawyer. They won’t offer anything close to maximum compensation, and if you attempt to negotiate on your own, you might make a mistake that could leave you with nothing at all.

Our Lousiana Pipeline Explosion Lawyers Are Different

Our undefeated Louisiana pipeline explosion lawyers have successfully represented over 500 pipeline workers following some of the worst pipeline explosions in history, including:

• 3 of the 4 workers who were tragically killed during the Williams Station 62 explosion in Gibson, Louisiana
• Over 65 workers injured during the Williams explosion in Geismar, Louisiana
• A contractor seriously injured in the Phillips 66 explosion in Geismer, Lousiana

Why is our firm so successful?

• Every one of our lawyers is an experienced trial lawyer – and they’ve never lost in court.
• They have a thorough understanding of state and federal pipeline regulations and know how to counter the tactics companies employ to avoid responsibility.
• We won’t even consider settling unless the company offers the maximum compensation possible for your injuries and losses.
• If the company doesn’t offer a settlement that fully compensates you and your family, we won’t hesitate to take your case to trial, where we’ve consistently recovered the largest verdicts in history.

If you watch our  Client Video Testimonials or our firm’s YouTube channel, you’ll notice the same thing said repeatedly: we genuinely care about our clients and treat them like family. This commitment motivates our pipeline explosion lawyers to consistently win the largest verdicts and settlements in history, and it’s why our clients continue to call and turn to our lawyers years after we’ve successfully resolved their cases.

Contact our Undefeated Plant and Refinery Explosion Lawyers for a Free Consultation at 1-888-603-3636 or by Clicking Here

If you or a loved one were seriously injured or tragically killed while working on a Louisiana pipeline, you can’t trust the company with your family’s future.

With Billions in record-breaking settlements and verdicts, our Undefeated Pipeline Explosion Lawyers have the resources and experience to go up against the largest pipeline operators in the country and win.

Call 1-888-603-3636, use the “Chat Now” button on our website, or Click Here to send us a confidential email through our Contact Us form.

We’ll answer your questions, explain your rights and options, and provide the information you need to make the best decision for you and your family.

Your consult is completely free, and you won’t pay us a cent unless we win your case.