Four workers at an ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance have been injured in a plant explosion, according to a news report.
The Orange County Fire Department said that the blast occurred in a recently installed processing facility and involved gasoline. Nearby residents reported a sharp jolt that they assumed was an earthquake; the blast could be felt within two miles of the facility, which was totally destroyed in the subsequent fire.
The four workers who were electrical contractors at the refinery were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.
Cal-OSHA inspectors shut down a fluid catalytic cracking unit that they suspect caused the accident, although the investigation is ongoing. The refinery was cited in 2014 for eight serious violations (those that could result in serious injury or death) during a state inspection. A review earlier this month cleared the plant of all but two serious violations and 12 general violations.
If you or a loved one is involved in an accident that causes death or serious injury, call the Orange County personal injury attorneys at Callahan & Blaine, California’s Premier Litigation Firm. We are one of the leading catastrophic Orange County personal injury law firms. In fact, in the last five years alone our lawyers have obtained over $1.5 billion in verdicts and settlements, including a record breaking $50 Million settlement against the City of Dana Point, which has been certified as the largest personal injury settlement in the history of the United States.
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If you or someone you know has suffered a catastrophic injury or died as the result of an accident, please contact our Orange County law firm for expert legal counsel.