Two Injured in Galveston Workplace Accident at Pelican Island Storage Terminal

Galveston, Texas (May 21, 2020) – Two workers were injured Tuesday afternoon after an oil storage tank exploded in Galveston, according to authorities.

The explosion was reported around 3:20 p.m. May 19, at the Pelican Island Storage Terminal, in the 3800 block of GTI Boulevard, just east of the Texas A&M University Galveston campus.

Officials said crews appeared to have been welding near or at the tank when it exploded.

The tank stores 2 million gallons of heavy crude oil products.

Two workers were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

A shelter-in-place order was issued for the campus while firefighters tackled the blaze with foam.

The facility is an oil storage terminal that can hold 500,000 barrels of heavy fuel storage, carbon black oil, vacuum gas oil, and fuel oil cutter stock.

An investigation is underway.

We hope the injured victims recover quickly

“Texas has been the scene of some of the world’s most shocking industrial accidents in the past 25 years,” Joel A. Gordon, an experienced industrial accident lawyer, said. In the great majority of the cases, gross negligence on the part of the employer bears full responsibility,” he added. Numerous OSHA violations, fines, and deficiencies stand as proven evidence that employers repeatedly disregard the importance of worker safety by ignoring needs for proper equipment maintenance, employee protections around dangerous work conditions, and vigilance about employee health concerns or symptoms while working within unsafe circumstances. 

If you have been injured in this type of catastrophic event, you should consult with attorneys who have a history of success in personal injury claims. To speak with an attorney, please  Click to call: 281-943-5555.