Lawsuit Filed Against Tri-Chem for Fatal Chemical Explosion: John Jose Interviewed by CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
In an interview with CBS DFW, Fort Worth Managing Partner John Jose discussed a lawsuit filed against Tri-Chem blending facility in Cresson, Texas for a chemical explosion that occurred in March 2018, killing 27-year-old employee, Dylan Mitchell, and leaving his co-worker with serious and permanent burn injuries.
The explosion was triggered when Mitchell was mixing a sodium chlorite solution and inadvertently made contact with a container lid on the floor, creating sparks that ignited the sodium chlorite, causing it to explode. The lawsuit alleges the employees didn’t have access to adequate warnings or instructions to avoid the dangers of working with these types of chemicals.
According to Jose, none of the product information adequately warned that sparks could ignite spilled powder. “We don’t think that anyone on these premises were sufficiently familiar with the qualities and characteristics of this product,” said Jose.
The lawsuit names Tri-Chem Industries and three other companies involved in the distribution of the sodium chlorite, including a chemical supplier in China. “All of them have a responsibility to assure they know of the risks and hazards associated with the product and the methods to avoid those, and that those are adequately conveyed in the literature to the person or the company they’re selling it to,” added Jose.