Undefeated Dallas Pipeline Explosion Lawyers
Dallas Pipeline Explosion Lawyers
There are nearly 480,000 miles of pipeline that run across Texas, making it likely there’s an underground pipeline nearby – no matter where you live or work in the Lone Star State.
While these pipelines provide the state’s vital energy sector with a cost-effective way to transport large quantities of oil and natural gas, far too many are decades old and haven’t been adequately maintained. As a result, pipeline explosions are a common occurrence throughout Texas.
The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is no exception.
Undefeated Dallas Pipeline Explosion Lawyers with Billions Won: Call 1-888-603-3636 or Click Here for a Free Consult
When a pipeline operator’s negligence results in an explosion, spill, or other serious accident, those harmed by their wrongful conduct may be entitled to substantial damages for the physical, emotional, and financial losses related to their injuries.
Our Undefeated Pipeline Explosion Lawyers have won Billions for explosion victims and their families throughout Texas and across the United States and consistently obtain record-setting recoveries against the largest corporations in the world:
- #1 Largest Individual Burn Settlement in U.S. History
- #Largest verdicts and settlements in our opponents’ corporate histories
- Largest accident verdicts and settlements in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and across the United States
When a preventable pipeline explosion has forever changed your and your family’s life, you need to hire personal injury lawyers with the experience, resources, and dedication to not only fight for you but to win. As our victories confirm, we don’t just win for our clients – we set records.
When you hire our Dallas Pipeline Explosion Lawyers, they’ll commit all of their time and resources to recover the maximum compensation possible for all of your injuries and losses, so you’ll have the financial resources to continue receiving the best medical care available, make with mortgage or rent payments, put your kids through college, and replace the income lost to your injuries.
But don’t just take our word for it! To hear what our clients have to say about their experience with our firm, visit our Client Testimonial page or our firm’s YouTube Channel.
Texas Pipeline Explosions are Preventable
Any pipeline rupture can trigger a massive explosion and fire with the potential to cause significant property damage, severe injury, and even death.
Having successfully represented so many pipeline explosion victims in Texas and across the United States, it’s been our experience that most of these incidents are entirely preventable and result from an operator’s decision to cut corners by ignoring standard safety procedures and regulations put in place to ensure the well-being of pipeline workers and surrounding communities.
The most common causes of pipeline explosions include:
- Aging Pipelines: More than half of the nation’s pipeline infrastructure is over 50 years old and in need of replacement. In general, these old pipelines are made from materials more prone to corrosion, leaks, and ruptures. Although pipeline operators are aware of the problem and have a responsibility to address their aging infrastructure, they often fail to do so in time to prevent disaster.
- Improper Installation: Poor welding, failure to install shut-off valves, and other mistakes made during pipeline installation can result in a gas leak or other event that might trigger an explosion.
- Defective Safety Equipment: Pipeline equipment that suffers from design or manufacturing defects is more likely to leak, rupture, and cause an explosion.
- Inadequate Maintenance: Pipelines require regular inspection and maintenance to ensure their integrity. Unfortunately, many pipeline disasters have been linked to lapses in maintenance, either because of an operator’s negligence or willful disregard of safety procedures and regulations.
- Inadequate Training: To prevent catastrophe, pipeline operators must ensure their workers are adequately trained to perform installation and maintenance. They must also be trained to coordinate with local response teams in the event of a dangerous incident.
- Failure to Respond: Natural gas companies and other pipeline operators must respond immediately when they receive complaints of a leak. Any delay in response could result in a serious or fatal explosion.
- Failure to Add Odorant: Natural gas is both colorless and odorless, making it nearly impossible to detect a leak. For that reason, an odorant that produces a sulfur or “rotten egg’ smell is added to alert those nearby in the event of a leak. But piping can sometimes absorb the odorant, and some companies may even neglect to add it.
- Excavation Work: To prevent dents, punctures, or ruptures, care must be taken to identify and mark all underground pipelines before excavation work begins.
Atmos Energy’s History of Pipeline Failures
Pipelines operated by Atmos Energy have been responsible for dozens of natural gas explosions in Texas. In fact, according to the Dallas Morning News, more than two dozen Texas homes have blown up since 2006 due to leaks along the company’s lines, leaving nine people dead and injuring more than 20.
Atmos Energy owns and operates some of the oldest natural gas pipelines in the country, leaving them vulnerable to cracks and corrosion. Federal regulators recommended the removal of cast-iron pipelines in 1980, but most of the recent Atmos Energy explosions in Texas have involved cast-iron lines.
North Dallas Natural Gas Explosion Tragically Kills 12-Year-Old Child
In February 2018, the rupture of a leaking Atmos pipeline triggered an explosion that destroyed a North Dallas home and tragically killed a 12-year-old girl as she was getting ready for school. The Texas Railroad Commission later found that Atmos Energy’s failure to detect pipeline leaks in the days, months, and even hours before the blast was responsible for the horrific incident.
In March 2017, a year before the tragedy, Atmos surveyed the same neighborhood for gas leaks on a day when wind gusts exceeded 15 mph. However, the equipment crews were using wasn’t meant for windy or wet conditions and could not accurately measure gas plumes.
Two days before the deadly February 2018 explosion, another incident involving natural gas damaged two homes across the street. While Atmos crews did detect more than a dozen leaks using the same equipment, standing water left in an alleyway from recent rains left others undetected.
More leaks were detected in the aftermath of the fatal blast. At that point, Atmos finally asked residents to evacuate the neighborhood.
Irving Family Barely Escapes New Year’s Day Explosion
One month before the deadly north Dallas explosion, migrating natural gas ignited the furnace pilot light in an Irving home just before dawn on New Year’s Day. The devastating explosion destroyed the building, and the family sleeping inside barely escaped with their lives.
Atmos crews had already been at the scene for about eight hours trying to repair a leak near the home after people in the area reported a strong smell of gas the prior evening. Despite the apparent danger, crew members repeatedly told residents there was no need to evacuate.
Atmos Pipeline Explosion Leaves 2 Dead in Collin County
In September 2021, an explosion at an Atmos Energy site in Collin County, Texas, tragically killed two contractors and put two others in the hospital.
The workers were employed by Bobcat Contracting and Fesco Petroleum Engineering and were performing maintenance at the site. They were using a “pig” to inspect a section of pipeline when the blast erupted.
Common Pipeline Explosion Injuries
Pipeline ruptures, explosions, and fires expose workers, first responders, and even civilians living and working nearby to a significant risk of life-altering and potentially fatal injuries, including:
- Burn Injuries
- Toxic Exposure
- Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries
- Internal Injuries
- Bone Fractures
- Loss of Limb/Amputation
- Ruptured Eardrums
- Cuts and Lacerations
- Scarring and Disfigurement
Pipeline explosion injuries often require extensive medical treatment, leave victims partially or permanently disabled, and rob them of the ability to provide for themselves and their families.
Our Undefeated Texas Pipeline Explosion Lawyers understand the far-reaching consequences these disasters have for victims and their families and will devote whatever resources and time are necessary to ensure our clients receive the maximum recovery possible.
From helping you access the best doctors and medical providers in the country to making sure you’re able to pay the bills while your case is pending and setting you up with the best financial advisors to safeguard your settlement once your case has been resolved, our attorneys and staff will always there for you.
Don’t Trust the Pipeline Operator to Make Things Right
Because a significant pipeline accident or explosion has the potential to cause widespread injury, death, and property damage, potential verdicts and settlements related to these catastrophes tend to be much larger and may even break records. For that reason, pipeline operators, their insurers, and their high-priced teams of attorneys will do everything possible to avoid paying victims and their families all that they are owed:
- Destroying or “losing” critical evidence proving the operator was at fault.
- Seeking conflicting statements from pipeline workers or “outside experts” to blame others.
- Attempting to limit the financial recovery of injured employees to workers’ compensation benefits.
- Hiring private investigators to follow, photograph, record video, and monitor the social media posts of victims and their families to dispute the seriousness of their injuries.
- Pressuring victims to accept an inadequate settlement offer or participate in a mass claims process that requires they surrender their right to sue for any future injuries or illnesses associated with the incident.
No matter how convincingly the pipeline operator and its claims adjuster promise to “take care of you” and “make things right,” they have but one goal: to save money by paying you and your family as little as possible for your injuries and financial losses.
To avoid making a mistake that could potentially cost you and your family MILLIONS of dollars, you should not speak with the pipeline company’s claims adjuster, provide a recorded statement, or sign anything until you’ve had a chance to talk with an experienced pipeline explosion lawyer with a track record of representing explosion victims against the largest petrochemical companies in the world.
Our Undefeated Texas Pipeline Explosion Lawyers have seen just how far pipeline operators and their attorneys will go to avoid responsibility after a catastrophic explosion or accident. We know how to counter their tactics and will make sure that you get the largest settlement or verdict possible, so you never have to worry about your financial future again.
If the pipeline company and its insurance carrier refuse to offer a settlement that fully compensates you and your family for ALL your injuries and damages, our Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys will be ready for trial, where our lawyers remain undefeated.
Undefeated Dallas Pipeline Explosion Lawyers with Billions Won: Call 1-888-603-3636 or Click Here for a Free Consult.
Having won Billions in connection with the worst pipeline and industrial disasters in recent history, our Undefeated Dallas Pipeline Explosion Lawyers don’t just win; they consistently recover the Largest Verdicts and Settlements in Texas and our opponents’ history.
If you or a loved one were injured or tragically killed in connection with a pipeline explosion or accident, please contact our Experienced Texas Explosion Attorneys for a free consultation at 1-888-603-3636 or click here to send us a confidential email through our “Contact Us” form.
All consultations are free, and because we work for a contingency fee, you won’t owe us anything unless we win your case.