I'm a contract worker hurt at a plant or refinery. Can I sue the plant owner?

Why this question matters so much in Houston

Most of the people who work inside refineries, chemical plants and terminals along the Ship Channel don't work for the plant. They work for contractors: maintenance crews, turnaround crews, scaffold builders, insulators, electricians, welders and cleaners. When one of them is hurt, the natural question is whether the plant itself can be held responsible. In Texas, the answer turns on a law written specifically for that situation.

What Chapter 95 says

Chapter 95 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code covers claims by contractors and their employees against a property owner for injuries that arise from building, repairing, renovating or modifying an improvement to real property. That describes most plant maintenance and construction work.

Under Chapter 95, the property owner is not liable unless both of these are true:

• the owner exercised or kept some control over how the work was done, beyond the right to start or stop it, inspect progress or receive reports; and
• the owner had actual knowledge of the danger or condition and failed to adequately warn.

The Texas Supreme Court has applied Chapter 95 broadly. In Endeavor Energy Resources v. Cuevas (2019), it held that the law covers claims arising from the use of an improvement to real property, regardless of when the other negligent act happened.

What that means in real cases

Plants control a great deal: permits to work, lockout and tagout, gas testing, which units are live, when lines are opened, and who gets to stop the job. Safety managers, operators and permit writers often know exactly what is in a line or a vessel. That is the evidence that matters under Chapter 95, and it has to be gathered early, before procedures are rewritten and memories fade.

The evidence that proves control and knowledge

Chapter 95 cases are won or lost on documents most workers never see. Plants that handle highly hazardous chemicals must follow OSHA's Process Safety Management rule, which creates exactly the kind of records that show what a plant controlled and what it knew:

• Contractor safety duties: the plant must tell contract employers about the known fire, explosion and toxic release hazards of the work and the process.
• Work permits, hot work permits and job safety analyses, showing who authorized the job and on what conditions.
• Lockout/tagout, line-break and gas-test records, showing who isolated the equipment and who decided it was safe to open.
• Management-of-change records, operating procedures and operator logs, showing what changed in the unit and who knew.
• The plant's own incident investigation, which the rule requires to begin within 48 hours, and its reports of earlier incidents and near misses.

We demand that these records be preserved at the start of the case, before they are revised or lost.

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.

Chapter 95 does not protect everyone on the site

Chapter 95 is a protection for the property owner. Other contractors on the site, such as the company running the crane, the firm that built the scaffold or another crew working the same unit, are generally judged under ordinary negligence rules. Equipment manufacturers can be responsible for a defective valve, hose, fitting or machine. A single injury can involve several companies, and finding all of them is our job.

Your own employer and workers' comp

If your employer carries workers' compensation, you generally receive benefits from it rather than suing it. If it does not, you can sue it for negligence, and it loses key defenses. One more wrinkle: when a plant owner provides the workers' comp coverage for everyone on a project through an owner-controlled, or "wrap-up," insurance program, Texas law can treat the owner as your employer for that purpose, which can block a lawsuit against it. Your paperwork matters, so keep everything you were given at orientation.

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.

Act quickly

Report the injury to your employer within 30 days to protect workers' comp benefits, and remember that most injury lawsuits must be filed within two years. 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

Can I sue the refinery if I work for a contractor?

Possibly. Under Chapter 95, the refinery as property owner is liable if it controlled how the work was done and knew about the danger but failed to adequately warn. Other companies on the site can be responsible under ordinary negligence rules.

What is a wrap-up or OCIP insurance program?

It is an insurance program in which the property owner provides workers' comp coverage for everyone on a project. When the owner provides the coverage, Texas law can treat it as your employer, which can bar a lawsuit against it.

Does it matter that I signed a safety orientation?

Signing an orientation does not waive your rights. Keep a copy if you can; it can help show what the plant controlled and what it knew.

Do I need papers to make a claim?

No. Your right to compensation for a workplace injury in Texas does not depend on your immigration status.

Can I sue a big oil or chemical company if I work for a contractor?

Possibly. The size of the company doesn't change the rule: under Chapter 95, the plant owner is liable if it controlled how the work was done and knew about the danger. Large plants keep detailed records of both.

I was hurt during a turnaround. Is that different?

Turnarounds put many contractors in the same unit at once, often under schedule pressure. Chapter 95 still applies to the plant owner, and the other contractors working around you are judged under ordinary negligence rules.

How much is my case worth?

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

Authority: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 95 · Endeavor Energy Res. v. Cuevas (Tex. 2019) · Tex. Lab. Code ch. 406 · OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 (process safety)