What Caused the Mexico Pipeline Explosion: Negligence or Criminals?

On January 18, a massive pipeline explosion in central Mexico killed at least 91 workers. It also injured as many as 66 individuals, some of them minors sent to Shriners Hospital for Children in Galveston, Texas. It raised the serious question about how it’s a company’s responsibility to ensure the quality of life and safety of their workforce.

Injuries and Deaths from Pipeline Explosion Result in a Major Lawsuit

The accident resulted in a lawsuit that would stand to be one of the largest of its kind, starting with an investigation based on static electricity resulting from clothing that may have caused the blast. Synthetic fibers have an ability to generate all sorts of electric reaction that would be dangerous around a pipeline.

At that time of the discovery, no arrests were made and witnesses were being interviewed to determine what caused the explosion. Even with evacuations mandated, the damage was done, but who was responsible? It could very well be authorities in general for not providing enough information to workers.

However, it was stated that the company in particular, involving the operation of the gas pipeline, blamed illegal taps into the fuel supply, since theft remains a serious problem in the region. The administration, in fact, ended up closing several pipelines in an effort to put a stop to those crimes. President Lopez Obrador said that the loss from theft estimates at an alarming $3 billion just in the last year.

Countless drivers wait in long lines just to fill their tanks. More and more scour social media in an effort to find the stations that are open due to fuel shortages, and this may all stem from fuel theft and a lack of funds to cover the gaps in the shortage.

Did Negligence or Crime Cause The Explosion?

Some correlation exists. However, an experienced lawyer would surmise that stations would have a direct responsibility to monitor actions and behavior to ensure that there is no theft, which would potentially cause explosions. Given the level of criminal activity, certain steps would need to be taken just to avoid such disasters in the long-term. Fundamentally, this presents the situation as clear as day given that we can’t issue blame or responsibility solely on clothing, nor on fuel theft.

Undoubtedly, if stations are not taking the proper action to do everything they possibly can to limit theft, they may be the ones facing responsibility in the most serious way. After all, the numbers don’t lie: 91 people died as a result of the explosion; and 66 were injured.

Lawyers experienced in personal injury related to the oil and gas industry understand how these facilities and regulations work. They can perform an investigation, determine what happened, and hold negligent parties accountable.