FERGUSON LAW FILES SUIT FOR CATASTROPHICALLY BURNED VICTIM OF JASPER COUNTY OIL RIG EXPLOSION
The Ferguson Law Firm, Beaumont’s leading personal injury firm, has filed suit on behalf of a 40 year old Jasper County man who was severely burned when an oil rig exploded in August 2019. The lawsuit, spearheaded by law firm partners Cody A. Dishon and Jane S. Leger, was filed on behalf of Brandon Fregia, the most severely injured of the workers. The lawsuit names Jeffcoat Production Company Inc., Deluxe Lease Maintenance of SETX, and SETX Oilfield Services as defendants. Mr. Fregia was engulfed in flames and suffered severe burns from the waist up from the explosion. He was transported by air ambulance to the burn unit and has undergone multiple surgeries and grafts for his injuries.
The sorrowful record that Texas employers have in protecting workers was not lost on Mr. Dishon: “This case provides another example why Texas consistently leads the nation in serious workplace injuries and deaths. Brandon Fregia sustained severe burns from the waist up as a result of an oil rig explosion at a Jeffcoat Production drilling site on August 9, 2019. There is no question that his life will never be the same. The oil rig explosion was completely preventable had the Defendants followed basic industry standards. Instead of adhering to basic industry standards, Defendants ignored those standards, choosing profits over safety.” The number of people killed on a jobsite in Texas continues to rise and Texas continues to lead the country in this fatal category. Statistically, a Texas worker is killed on the job every sixteen hours. Serious injuries occur even more often.
Mr. Dishon stated, “The Ferguson Law Firm is honored to represent Brandon Fregia, an oilfield worker who suffered severe burns and other catastrophic injuries following this major oil rig explosion near Jasper, Texas. This explosion happened for one reason – and that reason is the Defendants’ failure to follow basic industry safety standards. The only thing more tragic that this appalling lack of worker protection is the catastrophic effect it has had on Brandon and his family. He has been severely burned, undergone multiple surgeries and, at age 40, finds himself only a fraction of the person he once was. And all of this was preventable had the defendants here simply followed the rules.”
Mr. Fregia’s lawsuit arises from the August 9, 2019 oil well blowout, explosion, and fire which occurred at Jeffcoat Production’s wellsite located between Buna and Kirbyville, Texas. The lawsuit alleges that both Jeffcoat Production and SETX Oilfield Services failed to maintain, follow, or enforce policies and procedures for safe workover operations. The workover operations required the use of a watertank; however, the defendants delivered and placed that tank in dangerous proximity to the well, leading to the subsequent explosion. The Texas Railroad Commission, in its subsequent investigation, cited this complete lack of safety as causing or contributing to the explosion.
Mr. Dishon and Ms. Leger were quick in their actions on behalf of Mr. Fregia. They requested and obtained pre-suit depositions from a Jasper County District Court along with significant documents critical to the prosecution of the case. The Ferguson Law Firm, true to its mission of swift justice, was also the first to file suit for this horrific event. Law firm partner Jane S. Leger added, “Obtaining the evidence before it is lost, misplaced or otherwise disappears is critical. We did this here and, because of that, we are in a much better position to take care of our client, his needs and his rights.”
The law firm continues its mission of fighting for victims of corporate negligence and malfeasance. Its lawyers have obtained more than 150 verdicts or settlements in excess of $1,000,000 including many greater than $10,000,000.