HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Five victims of the 2020 Watson Grinding warehouse explosion in Spring Branch were awarded $37.9 million by a Harris County jury on Tuesday.
Watson Grinding declared bankruptcy shortly after the explosion, but attorneys in the case say insurance companies later settled claims to the tune of $52 million.
Tuesday’s judgement pertains to 3M and Teledyne-Detcon, two companies attorneys say did work on the warehouse’s gas detection system.
Investigators with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board concluded the gas detection system wasn’t working at the time of the blast.
When a hose dislodged and highly flammable propylene began leaking, investigators say workers weren’t alerted. They said the propylene ignited when a worker flipped a light switch.
ORIGINAL REPORT: This is the moment of the deadly explosion in northwest Houston
Amelia Diosdado, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, told Eyewitness News in Spanish that she was sleeping in her house when objects began falling on top of her, hitting her head and neck.
Margarito Gonzalez-Garcia said the blast caused his roof to cave in on him while he was walking downstairs.
It’s unclear how much money the victims will actually receive.
“It’s a verdict, right,” attorney Rob Kwok said. “It’s a piece of paper with a number on it. We still have to collect on it. And 3M’s got their lawyers, they’ve got their appellate team, they have the ability to drag this on forever.”
3M and Teledyne-Detcon didn’t return requests for comment.
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