Undefeated Refinery Accident Lawyer
Injured in a CITGO refinery accident?
When something goes wrong at a refinery, the consequences are often devastating for injured workers and their families. Medical bills can quickly climb into the tens of thousands of dollars, even as families are left without a critical source of income. What little victims receive in workers’ compensation benefits doesn’t come close to closing the gap.
Our Undefeated Refinery Accident Lawyers have successfully represented thousands of injured workers in Texas, Louisiana and throughout the United States. We know what you and your family are facing, and we know just how far a company like CITGO will go to avoid paying you the compensation you deserve, regardless of the consequences for your future. That’s why we fight so hard to hold these companies accountable and ensure injured workers and their families get the help they need after a catastrophic accident or explosion.
What to Know About CITGO Petroleum Corporation
CITGO Petroleum Corporation is one of the biggest names involved in the refining and marketing of petroleum products in the United States. Based in Houston, the company operates three refineries in Texas, Louisiana, and Illinois, with a combined total refining capacity of approximately 807,000 barrels per day. Together, these facilities employ about 3,300 workers.
CITGO Lake Charles, Louisiana Refinery
CITGO’s Lake Charles Refinery is the company’s largest facility as well as the fifth-largest refinery in the United States, with a processing capacity of about 463,000 barrels per day. Situated on more than 2,000 acres along the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Louisiana, the refinery complex houses catalytic crackers, alkylation units, hydrotreaters, and reformers, which allow the facility to convert heavy, sour crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and petrochemical feedstocks, among other high-value products.
CITGO Lemont, Illinois Refinery
CITGO’s Lemont Refinery is located on 1,100 acres outside Chicago and employs over 1,000 workers. The complex operates a wide range of refining units, including distillation towers, catalytic reformers, a coker, and hydrodesulfurization systems, which allow it to process approximately 177,000 barrels of crude per day into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and high-quality hydrocarbon solvents used in the production of paints, adhesives, and coatings. Unlike CITGO’s Gulf Coast facilities, Lemont lacks direct marine access and instead relies on an extensive pipeline and rail network for crude supply and product shipment.
CITGO Corpus Christi, Texas
At 890 acres, CITGO’s Corpus Christi Refinery is smaller than the company’s other two facilities, but still highly advanced, with a capacity of roughly 167,000 barrels per day. The refinery produces a wide variety of fuels and chemicals, including gasoline, ultra-low-sulfur diesel, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gases, aromatics such as toluene and xylene, cumene, sulfur, and petroleum coke. In addition to seven ship channel docs, the facility operates two on-site wastewater treatment plants to manage industrial effluent.
Recent CITGO Refinery Accidents and Explosions
CITGO refineries have raised their share of safety and environmental concerns over the years, including worker fatalities from explosions and falls, as well as toxic chemical releases that posed a risk to nearby communities. In 2009, for example, an investigation conducted by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board in the wake of a catastrophic fire revealed significant management system deficiencies at the company’s Corpus Christi refinery. Just two years earlier, CITGO was convicted of violating the Clean Air Act after illegally operating oil-water separator tanks at the same facility that exposed nearby residents to carcinogens for a decade.
September 2025 – Fire at CITGO Lake Charles Refinery
On September 22, 2025, four workers were hurt when a fire erupted inside CITGO’s Lake Charles Refinery. According to media reports, the blaze originated in a process unit and required an emergency response from the Louisiana State Police and multiple area fire crews. The four workers were employed by Turner Industries, a contractor based in Lake Charles, and suffered injuries ranging from minor to moderate.
July 2025 – Lake Charles South Sulphur Tank Fire
On July 10, 2025, firefighters responded to a tank fire at the South Sulphur facility connected to CITGO’s Lake Charles operations. A massive plume of smoke was visible for miles, alarming residents across the area. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in connection with that incident.
March 2020 – Turner Industries Contractor Killed at CITGO Lake Charles
In March 2020, another contractor employed by Turner Industries was killed while performing work at CITGO’s Lake Charles Refinery. The company later reported that the 56-year-old man had been struck by a forklift operated by another contract employee.
July 2009 – Corpus Christi Hydrofluoric Acid Release and Fire
On July 19, 2009, a sudden release of hydrocarbons and hydrogen fluoride triggered a days-long fire at the CITGO Corpus Christi refinery’s HF alkylation unit. The blaze injured two workers, including one who suffered critical burns, and nearly spread highly toxic hydrogen fluoride across the community..
Common Causes of CITGO Refinery Accidents and Explosions
Having successfully represented over 1,000 refinery workers in Texas and across the United States, we’ve found there’s a common theme in every explosion and accident case we’ve handled: the causes and contributing factors are almost always preventable and typically arise when a refinery operator or owner chooses to prioritize profits over safety.
- Mishandling of Hazardous Materials: Refineries process and utilize many hazardous substances, from crude oil to hydrofluoric acid. When these are improperly stored, transferred, or mixed, even minor errors can trigger catastrophic fires, explosions, or toxic releases.
- Uncontrolled Chemical Reactions: Refining processes involve volatile chemical reactions that must be kept within precise limits. Even a slight increase in temperature or pressure can trigger a chain reaction that could potentially lead to an explosion or fire.
- Equipment Defects or Malfunctions: Pumps, compressors, and pressure vessels are essential for refinery operations, but they operate under extreme stress. Defective or poorly maintained equipment can become corroded, leak, and rupture, setting off a chain of events that ends in disaster.
- Lack of Maintenance or Inspections: Many serious and deadly refinery accidents are traced back to equipment that was defective or should have been repaired or replaced long before it failed.
- Negligence in Performance of Hot Work: Cutting, welding, or grinding near flammable vapors is one of the most common triggers of refinery fires. When proper procedures aren’t followed, a single spark from hot work can ignite any nearby vapors within seconds.
- Inadequate Training: Refinery operators have a duty to train their employees on hazard identification, proper procedures, and emergency response protocols. When they fail to meet this obligation, the potential for serious and fatal injury rises exponentially..
- Failure of Safety Systems and Protocols – Refineries are equipped with alarms, pressure-relief systems, and automated shutoffs to minimize the risk of explosions and fires. When these safeguards are turned off, ignored, or malfunction, what might have been a minor incident can escalate quickly.
Your Legal Rights After a CITGO Refinery Accident or Explosion
In most states, employees injured on the job are entitled to collect workers’ compensation benefits to cover some of their related medical bills and lost wages. Depending on the specific circumstances of an injury, they may also be able to take legal action against those responsible.
Workers’ compensation typically covers all reasonable and necessary medical expenses, along with income benefits that replace a portion of your lost wages. In many states, these benefits only amount to roughly two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to maximum and minimum limits. They also only last for a limited time, usually a set number of weeks or until you reach maximum medical improvement, whichever comes first.
Unfortunately, Texas employees don’t always have access to workers’ comp, as it’s the only state in the country that allows employers to opt out of coverage. Regardless of the state, benefits won’t cover many additional damages— such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, or the loss of future earning capacity—that you could potentially recover through a personal injury lawsuit.
While workers’ comp generally prevents employees from suing their employer for a workplace injury, you can usually do so in cases of gross negligence or intentional harm. Texas also allows employees to file personal injury lawsuits against employers when they opted out of the workers’ compensation system. In every state, injured workers are permitted to sue any third party whose negligence caused or contributed to their injuries, even if they are collecting workers’ compensation benefits.
If a refinery accident proves fatal, family members may be able to file wrongful death lawsuits against any negligent party whose conduct contributed to their loved one’s death. These claims allow spouses, children, and parents to recover damages for the financial support the worker would have provided, the loss of companionship and guidance, funeral and burial expenses, and emotional anguish.
Many states, including Texas, also allow for survival claims, which enable a deceased worker’s estate to recover damages they would have been entitled to had a refinery accident, such as medical bills related to the final injury, lost wages between the accident and death, and the pain and suffering endured before passing away.
Who Is Liable for a CITGO Refinery Explosion or Accident?
Catastrophic workplace injuries are rarely the fault of a single party. Identifying every responsible individual and entity is the only way to ensure you and your family can get the help you need after a CITGO refinery accident.
- CITGO: As the refinery operator, CITGO bears direct responsibility for maintaining safe facilities, training workers, and enforcing safety rules. If its failure to do so rises to gross negligence or is shown to be intentional, you may be able to sue the company even if they are your direct employer.
- Third-Party Contractors and Subcontractors: Like all refinery operators, CiITGO hires contractors to handle construction, repairs, and maintenance at its facilities. They can be sued if their mistakes or unsafe practices contributed to your injuries.
- Equipment Manufacturers: If pumps, valves, or pressure vessels fail due to defective design or manufacturing, the company that built them may be liable.
- Other Parties: Engineering firms, inspection companies, and safety consultants may also be held accountable if their negligence contributed to the unsafe conditions.
What to Do After a CITGO Refinery Accident
After any industrial disaster, a company like CITGO will immediately bring in an army of attorneys and investigators to accomplish one goal: save money by paying injured workers as little as possible, even if that means shifting blame, downplaying their injuries, and losing or even destroying evidence proving the company was at fault.
If you’re going to get the help you deserve after a CITGO refinery accident, you need to act just as quickly to protect your legal rights.
- Seek immediate medical attention from a doctor of your choice. Even if you feel fine, some injuries may not be immediately apparent. And remember, you don’t need to limit yourself to doctors chosen and paid by CITGO or its insurer.
- Preserve evidence from the accident scene. If possible, take photos, record videos, and write a detailed account of the accident while it’s still fresh in your mind, before cleanup efforts erase critical details.
- Collect witness contact information. Statements from coworkers or contractors can be critical in proving what really happened.
- Avoid giving recorded statements. Insurers will use your words to weaken your claim, and you are under no obligation to comply.
- Don’t sign documents or accept settlements without legal advice. Early settlement offers usually undervalue your claim and require that you surrender your right to sue later, even if your injuries turn out to be worse than initially thought.
- Stay off social media. Anything you post can be twisted and used against you.
- Assume you’re being monitored. Insurers often surveil injured workers, misrepresenting ordinary activities to cast doubt on their claims.
Undefeated CITGO Refinery Accident Lawyers: Call 1-888-603-3636 for a Free Consult
Our Undefeated Refinery Explosion Lawyers have won Billions for our clients, and we’ve consistently recovered record-setting verdicts and settlements against the largest oil, gas, and petrochemical companies in the world:
- #1 Largest Burn Injury Settlement in History
- $100 Million settlement for workers injured in a refinery explosion
- $75 Million Settlement for workers injured in refinery explosion
- $85 Million Settlement for injured refinery contractors
If you or a loved one were seriously injured, catastrophically burned, or tragically killed while working at a CITGO refinery, our attorneys will fight to get you and your family the help you deserve.
Call 1-888-603-3636, use the “chat” button on our homepage, or click here to send us a confidential email through our “Contact Us” form.