One court case brought by workers who were injured in the Williams Olefins Plant explosion in June of 2013 has reached a verdict. A jury awarded four workers who were injured that day a total of 13.6 million, saying that the company and officials in the company knew that a serious accident could occur and were negligent in taking steps to prevent it. The jury found that Williams Companies, Inc. was 95 percent responsible for the accident and their holding company, Williams Olefins, LLC was three percent responsible. Plant official Parker Tucker and supervisor Larry Bayer were both held one percent responsible.

The pressure release valve on a propane reboiler had been closed, and pressure built up until it finally exploded. This killed two workers and injured 114 others. Employees knew about the hazards and did nothing to fix it. According to court documents, a simple fix of tying car seals onto the valves could have prevented the explosion. William Olefins was cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for six violations, one of them willful. They were fined $99,000 by OSHA in 2013.

One worker received $9.4 million for his past and future medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. Another worker received $3.6 million and two more workers were awarded $360,000 and $205,000. The company said they will appeal.

There are other lawsuits pending against the company after this explosion, this was the first that has come to a verdict. The next case will go to trial in early November.