FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2007
DALLAS – The
widow of a man killed in an explosion at a TXI
facility in Midlothian, Texas was awarded $24
million by a Dallas jury today, culminating a
3-week-long trial. The jury deliberated for almost
two days before returning the unanimous verdict
against Dallas-based TXI, one of the nation’s
largest producers of bagged cement.
Gordon Rutherford, 34, of Waxahachie, Texas,
was killed in January 2003 while employed by
Circle 4M Welding, a TXI contractor. According
to the lawsuit filed by his wife, Amy, TXI directed
Rutherford and a crew of three other welders
to work in a location 90 feet in the air near
an environmental scrubber that contained 5.5
tons of combustible plastic. During the
course of the work, the combustible plastics
caught on fire and engulfed Rutherford who was
standing in the basket of a crane. Following
the explosion, the crane holding Rutherford in
the air would not operate, leaving Rutherford
suspended in the air on fire, resulting in his
death.
The suit charged TXI with negligence and recklessness
in sending Rutherford and the other welders to
work in this area without warning them of the
danger presented by the nearby plastic that TXI
knew was combustible. The other workers
sustained burn injuries of varying severity and
one was hospitalized.
“TXI ignored basic safety principles and
their own policies and procedures by sending
this team into work near a large fire hazard." said
Michael Heygood of the law firm Heygood, Orr,
Reyes & Bartolomei, attorney for Ms. Rutherford. “This
trial was about determining how seriously companies
should take plant safety. After hearing
evidence for almost three weeks, the jury rejected
the notion that industrial plants can maintain
a blind eye to the dangers their workers face,” he
said.
During the trial, Mrs. Rutherford’s attorneys
alleged that TXI knew about the combustible nature
of the plastic in the scrubber, due to a previous
incident 18 months earlier when the plastic overheated
and melted. A representative of the company
that manufactured the plastic testified that
he had previously recommended that TXI replace
the plastic in the scrubber with stainless steel
for many reasons, including the danger of overheating. However,
given the additional costs involved, TXI decided
to reject such recommendation.
In addition, attorneys pointed to the fact that
plant safety managers were inexperienced in the
safety issues involving large industrial plants,
having never held a job in safety prior to being
hired by TXI.
“As a result of this verdict, industrial
plants hopefully will understand the need to
ensure they hire experienced safety professionals
to overlook the operations of their facilities. Mrs.
Rutherford hopes this verdict will save other
lives,” said Robert Lee of Lee & Braziel,
co-counsel for Mrs. Rutherford.
TXI was represented in the case by Charles Hurd
and Lee Thibodeaux with the Houston office of
Fulbright & Jaworski.
The Law Offices of Heygood, Orr, Reyes, Pearson & Bartolomei
is a Texas civil trial firm specializing in business
litigation and life altering personal injury
and wrongful death litigation. More information
on the firm is available at www.reyeslaw.com.
For more information on the litigation please
contact Barry Pound at 214-55-4630; 800-559-4534
or
barry@legalpr.com.
<< BACK
TO PERSONAL INJURY ARCHIVE