News Media Reports on AI’s 14 Cases Against Westlake Chemical

Last week, we reported that a refinery explosion in Sulphur, LA at the Westlake Chemical facility inflicted injury and trauma on dozens of workers, covering at least one in burns on 50% of his body. The explosion occurred during a turnaround, a period in which the plant shuts down for maintenance; many explosions we’ve investigated took place during a turnaround.

Within days, survivors of the explosion turned to Lake Charles plant explosion lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP.

We are now representing 14* Westlake Chemical explosion survivors in total.

Now, the news media is reporting on the growing number of lawsuits workers are filing.

“The Most Dangerous Time to Be in a Plant”

Fox interviewed Kurt Arnold regarding why the explosion happened. “I’ve found that nearly in every plant explosion that I’ve been involved in, it’s been during a turnaround because it’s the heightened risk to the contractors,” he said. “You’re packing a ton of contractors into a plant at the same time in close proximity, so when something bad happens, the injuries are multiplied because everybody’s on top of each other.”

One of our clients suffered a grievous head injury when the explosion knocked him backwards from where he was cleaning. He was fortunately able to flee the fire, but shortly after the flight response wore off, he realized how truly serious his injuries were. We’re looking to get him everything he needs so he can recover properly—without the fear of losing his home, career, or income.

Westlake Chemical hasn’t released any information about what might have caused the explosion, and they may not for a while. Regardless, we’ll be investigating the explosion so our clients can get answers and pay for the medical care they desperately need. We look forward to helping these 14 families rebuild their lives while we hold Westlake Chemical and both contractors—Cardinal Culinary Services and Wastewater Specialties—accountable.

*As of January 2022, Arnold & Itkin is representing more than 20 Westlake Chemical explosion survivors.