I was exposed to a chemical release at work, like H2S or benzene. What are my rights?

Two kinds of chemical injuries

Some chemical injuries happen in seconds: a release of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) that knocks a worker unconscious, an acid or caustic splash, a cloud of ammonia or chlorine that burns the eyes and lungs. Others build slowly, from months or years of breathing benzene, solvents, silica or other toxic substances, and show up later as lung disease, nerve damage or cancer. Benzene, common in refineries and petrochemical plants, is a known cause of certain blood cancers. The law treats these two kinds of injuries differently, so the first step is understanding which one you have.

What happens right after an exposure matters

After a release, tell the medical staff exactly what you were exposed to, for how long and how close you were. Ask for the safety data sheet for the chemical. Write down the date, the unit, the time, who else was there and what the alarms or monitors showed. Symptoms such as coughing, chest tightness, headaches and dizziness can get worse over the first days, and some lung injuries appear later. Go back to the doctor if they do.

Who can be responsible

• The plant or facility owner that ran the process. For contract workers, Texas Chapter 95 applies: the owner is liable if it controlled how the work was done and knew of the danger without adequately warning. How Chapter 95 works.
• Other contractors who opened a line, failed to isolate equipment or skipped a gas test.
• Manufacturers of defective monitors, respirators, valves or fittings, and of chemicals sold without adequate warnings.
• Your employer, if it has no workers' compensation.

The evidence we go after

• Gas monitor and area monitor data, including whether personal H2S monitors were issued, calibrated and working.
• Work permits, gas tests and line-break or lockout records for the job.
• The plant's process safety records and its own incident investigation, which OSHA requires to begin within 48 hours for covered processes.
• Industrial hygiene and air-sampling records showing exposure levels over time, which matter most in long-term exposure cases.
• Respirator fit tests and training records.
• Medical records from the day of the release forward.

Long-term exposure and deadlines

In Texas, an illness caused by work can be covered by workers' comp as an occupational disease, and the 30-day notice to your employer runs from when you knew or should have known the illness may be related to work. For lawsuits, the deadline is generally two years, but for illnesses that appear years later, when that clock starts is a legal question that depends on when the illness was discovered and linked to the exposure. Don't assume it's too late, and don't wait once a doctor connects your illness to your work.

What a claim can cover

Workers' comp, when your employer has it, pays medical care and part of your lost wages, but nothing for pain or the full loss of your earning ability. A claim against another responsible company, or against an employer without workers' comp, can cover all of it: medical bills now and in the future, every dollar of lost wages, lost earning capacity, pain, mental anguish, disfigurement and physical impairment. What a case is worth depends on the injuries, the future care they require, your work and the evidence of fault. No honest lawyer can put a number on it before reviewing those facts, and we never promise a result.

How these cases unfold

The company's investigation starts the same day, often with its lawyers and insurers involved. OSHA may inspect, and it has six months from a violation to issue citations. Federal investigations by the Chemical Safety Board can take years, and you don't have to wait for them. In the first weeks, our job is to send preservation demands so records, data and equipment are not lost, identify every company involved, and get you the medical care the claim depends on. Then come the experts, such as process-safety engineers, safety consultants, doctors and economists, followed by negotiations or a lawsuit. Many workplace cases resolve in one to three years; the most serious ones can take longer.

What to do now

Get evaluated, keep a written record of the exposure, and don't give a recorded statement to the company or its insurer. Jimmy Suerken is a Mexican-American attorney who speaks Spanish, and you can talk with him directly. When a case calls for it, he brings in experienced co-counsel and the right experts.

More answers about industrial and plant accidents

Other ways people ask this

I passed out from H2S at work. Do I have a case?

Possibly. H2S exposures usually involve failures in gas testing, monitoring, ventilation or isolation. Depending on who was responsible and whether your employer has workers' comp, you may have claims against the plant owner, contractors or equipment makers.

I worked around benzene for years and now I have leukemia. Can I still make a claim?

Possibly. Benzene is a known cause of certain blood cancers. When the deadline started depends on when the illness was discovered and connected to the exposure, so talk to a lawyer as soon as a doctor makes that link.

Is a chemical injury covered by workers' comp?

It can be. Texas workers' comp covers occupational diseases as well as sudden injuries. Report it within 30 days of when you knew or should have known it may be related to work.

Do I need the safety data sheet?

It helps. It shows what the chemical was and what protections were required. Ask for it, and tell your doctor exactly what you were exposed to.

How much is a chemical exposure case worth?

It depends on the injury or illness, future medical care, your work and the evidence of responsibility. We give you an honest assessment after reviewing the facts, and we never promise a result.

My coworkers were exposed too. Should we all make claims?

Each worker's claim is separate and depends on that person's exposure and injuries. Several workers hurt in the same release can share evidence, which can make every claim stronger.

The company says the release was within safe limits. Does that end my case?

No. Company statements after a release are not the final word. Monitor data, air sampling and medical evidence can show what workers were actually exposed to.

Authority: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 (process safety) · Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 95 · Tex. Lab. Code ch. 409