BP case settles

TEXAS CITY — The second lawsuit stemming from March 2005’s deadly blasts at BP’s Texas City refinery to go to trial ended Tuesday as the first one had — in a settlement.

Judge Susan Criss welcomed jurors back to the 212th State District Court on Tuesday after a long weekend by telling them their work was done.

Lawyers for BP and the eight workers claiming a variety of injuries caused by the blasts had reached a settlement during the weekend, she told the jury.

Terms of the settlement were not released.

The explosions occurred on March 23, 2005, when volatile gases escaped from a device called blowdown stack and ignited, killing 15 workers and wounding hundreds more. The sound of the blasts carried all the way to Galveston Island, and the consequences included more than 3,000 lawsuits.

As he thanked jurors for their time and attention, plaintiffs’ attorney Ernest Cannon referred to the injured workers in the case as “a band of brothers and sisters who have stuck together.”

That familial sense extended to industrial workers not hurt by the blasts, as plaintiff Richard Crofoot told jurors the case was not about money.

“This was personal, but we were also looking for increased safety for our fellow workers,” he said.

Later, Crofoot told The Daily News he hoped the international coverage the blasts have garnered would increase safety for industrial workers everywhere.

“We’re just a small section of people who have received justice,” he said. “There’s so many working in industry who could be affected by something like this.”

Plaintiff John Estephan was painting pipes at the refinery when the blasts knocked him to the ground, almost 10 feet below. Like Crofoot, Estephan faces the prospect of back surgery, and he also said the safety of others was a key reason for bringing his lawsuit.

“What I think about the whole thing is that BP has got to be caring more about people than just money,” he said. “Safety on the job should be No. 1 — that’s what I have always been taught.”

During the trial, plaintiffs’ attorneys Cannon and Craig Eiland showed evidence that BP knew parts of the refinery were in need of maintenance and repair. Some of that evidence came from BP itself in documents the company had used to downplay the site’s value in a 2003 bid to lower its taxes.

With Tuesday’s settlement, BP closes the book on about three-fourths of the claims it faced because of the blasts.

About 750 cases still were pending Tuesday. All wrongful-death claims were among those settled.

Eight plaintiffs — another group of workers claiming injuries from the explosions — were involved in the first case to go to trial, which began in September.

The two sides settled the case on Sept. 18.

In the process of settling death and injury claims by workers, BP exhausted a $1.6 billion fund the company had established to pay settlements, company representatives said Monday, the day before the newest settlement was announced.

Attorney Jim Galbraith, part of BP’s defense team, said the company and its attorneys had been working hard to be accountable and resolve the claims.

“I can’t speak on BP’s behalf but, as an attorney, I can’t think of another company that’s been as proactive about settling these types of claims,” he said.

BP’s corporate response to the latest round of settlements was simple and brief.

“We’re pleased to resolve these cases,” BP spokesman Neil Chapman said.

In October, BP was assessed a $50 million criminal fine in a federal investigation into the deadly explosions.

Criss told attorneys Tuesday that the next batch of eight plaintiffs was set for trial in May.

At the outset of the mass litigation, the judge 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. Estephan, a Houston resident, said he was glad his trial was over and said he would not be spending much time in Galveston County.

“I don’t want to be around if it explodes again,” he said.