THREE RIVERS, Texas – A group of five men, who said they were injured in a refinery explosion, filed a lawsuit against Valero Energy Corporation and are seeking over $1 million in damages, according to a lawsuit.
The suit, filed in a Bexar County district court on Feb. 13, stated the men were injured on Jan. 26 at Valero’s oil refinery in Three Rivers, Texas. Three Rivers is located approximately 70 miles south of downtown San Antonio.
“On or about January 26, 2025, Plaintiffs were working at the Valero Three Rivers Refinery in or near the FCC Unit of the refinery. There was an explosion and flash fire due to Valero’s refinery operator opening the bleeder valve in the immediate vicinity of multiple potential ignition sources,” the lawsuit states.
KSAT reached out to a Valero spokesperson for a comment on the lawsuit Friday and Tuesday but the company has yet to respond.
According to the lawsuit, the five plaintiffs are Justin Marsalia, John Gross, Wade Carroll, Juan Soto and Barry Wade.
Lamar DeLong, a Houston lawyer representing the plaintiffs, stated they were part of a decontamination crew that provided chemical cleaning for refineries and were under contract with Valero.
Before the explosion, DeLong told KSAT that his clients were setting up their equipment. They could not decontaminate yet because Valero was “behind schedule” on clearing the area and removing chemicals and gas in their flowlines.
At some point, as Valero started releasing chemicals and venting flammable gas into an active unit for his clients to begin their work, an ignition source was detected.
The ignition source triggered the explosion, DeLong said.
Marsalia and Gross suffered third-degree burns and were transported and hospitalized at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, DeLong said.
“One of our clients was hospitalized in the burn unit for 11 days. He suffered third-degree burns on his legs, upper chest, neck and arms,” DeLong said. “The other individual that was burned suffered some third-degree burns and was hospitalized for four days, and they are both back home now.”
The other three men — Carroll, Soto, and Wade — suffered “orthopedic” injuries, DeLong said, which include neck, back and other injuries.
They also suffered mentally from the incident, DeLong said.
The five men have not returned to work since the explosion, their attorney said.
The plaintiffs claim that Valero failed to maintain a safe workplace and violated safety protocols, according to the lawsuit.
Due to their injuries, the five men are seeking damages of over $1 million. Additionally, they are seeking what they described as punitive damages for gross negligence by Valero.
Those damages include compensation for past and future medical expenses, lost earnings, mental anguish, pain and suffering, disfigurement and physical impairment, the suit stated.
