The Galveston County Daily News

TEXAS CITY — The second week of the second trial about the March 2005 blasts at BP’s Texas City refinery ended with jurors hearing from plaintiffs and their loved ones.

The explosions occurred on March 23, 2005, when a blowdown stack failed to keep built-up, pressurized gas from blowing.

Most of the 3,000 lawsuits filed since then — including all wrongful-death suits filed by relatives of the 15 workers killed in the blasts — have settled.

The case entering its third week of testimony involves eight workers who suffered various injuries that they and their families described as life-altering and traumatic.

Donald Jones II, whose father and namesake was one of the wounded workers, said his dad went from being a “great athlete” to being frustrated he could not physically stand even to play catch.

“We went to a tailgate at a football game a couple of months ago, and we always used to throw the football around,” said Jones, now a teacher and baseball coach in Pasadena.

“This time, he threw it once or twice and said, ‘Son, I just can’t do it anymore.’”

BP’s defense team has maintained that, while BP had acknowledged responsibility for the blasts, the company neither was negligent nor did it willingly continue an unsafe work environment.

However, plaintiffs’ attorneys have argued — sometimes supported by documents from BP itself — that the company was willing to let the refinery become dangerous to workers in order to save money.

Like the first trial, which ended without a verdict after the two sides reached a settlement, this trial is in Galveston’s 212th State District Court, where all related cases have been assigned.

Judge Susan Criss had instructed lawyers to bundle plaintiffs into groups of eight to try the cases as efficiently as possible, while still giving all parties fair trials.

The cases also were scheduled in order of severity, with death cases coming first, followed by personal-injury cases at the refinery. Cases involving off-site injuries and property damage will follow.

Testimony in the case resumes Tuesday afternoon.