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Refineries are among the most complex industrial workplaces in Montana. Daily operations often involve high-pressure systems, hazardous chemicals, heavy equipment, elevated work areas, and multiple contractors working side by side. When safety procedures break down, the result can be catastrophic injuries that require months of treatment or permanently change a person’s ability to work.
Many injured refinery workers assume workers’ compensation is their only option after an accident. While workers’ compensation benefits may be available, they are not always the only legal remedy. If another company, contractor, equipment manufacturer, or property owner contributed to the accident, you may also have the right to pursue a third-party personal injury claim seeking compensation beyond workers’ compensation benefits.
At Conner, Marr & Pinski, our refinery injury lawyers represent workers throughout Montana who have suffered serious injuries because another company or contractor failed to maintain a safe work environment. We evaluate whether a third-party negligence claim may exist and explain the options available beyond workers’ compensation.
Workers’ compensation provides important benefits after many workplace accidents, but it does not prevent every injured worker from pursuing a personal injury claim. When someone other than your employer contributed to the accident, you may have the right to seek compensation through a third-party workplace injury claim.
Modern refineries are rarely operated by a single company. Maintenance contractors, equipment manufacturers, engineering firms, scaffolding companies, specialty subcontractors, and inspection companies often work side by side during shutdowns, repairs, maintenance projects, and facility expansions. When one of those companies creates an unsafe condition that leads to an accident, an injured refinery worker may have legal rights beyond workers’ compensation through a third-party personal injury claim.
Determining who controlled the work, maintained the equipment, or failed to correct a known hazard often becomes one of the most important parts of investigating a refinery accident.
Refinery accidents rarely happen without warning. Many serious injuries occur because safety procedures were ignored, equipment was not properly maintained, or hazardous conditions were allowed to remain in place.
Workers may be injured in refinery explosions, fires, toxic gas releases, chemical leaks, confined space incidents, electrical accidents, scaffold failures, falls from elevated work areas, or equipment failures involving piping systems, valves, pumps, and pressure vessels.
The injuries sustained in refinery accidents are often severe because workers are exposed to heat, pressure, chemicals, and heavy industrial equipment capable of causing catastrophic harm within seconds.
Burn injuries frequently require skin grafts, reconstructive surgery, infection management, and months of rehabilitation. Chemical burns and toxic exposure can leave workers with permanent respiratory problems, neurological injuries, or other long-term health conditions. Explosions and equipment failures may also result in amputations, crush injuries, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, fractures, and internal organ damage.
The full impact of these injuries isn’t always known immediately after the accident. Ongoing medical treatment, future surgeries, and permanent work restrictions often become clearer over time, making it important to understand the long-term effects before resolving a personal injury claim.
Conner, Marr & Pinski has represented workers injured in complex industrial accidents throughout Montana. In one refinery injury case, our firm obtained a $2,250,000 settlement for a worker who pursued claims against a refinery after suffering serious injuries caused by toxic gas exposure. While every case depends on its own facts and prior results do not guarantee future outcomes, the case reflects our experience handling industrial accidents involving hazardous workplaces and third-party negligence.
Refineries play an important role in Montana’s economy, and the men and women who work in these facilities deserve safe working conditions. Our team represents injured refinery workers across the state, including employees and contractors working in and around Billings, Laurel, Great Falls, and other industrial communities.
Whether the accident involved a refinery explosion, toxic chemical exposure, a catastrophic burn injury, or another serious industrial accident, we can evaluate whether another company’s negligence contributed to what happened and explain the legal options that may be available.
If you were injured while working at a refinery in Montana, contact Conner, Marr & Pinski for a free consultation. We’ll review what happened, answer your questions, and explain whether a third-party personal injury claim may be available in addition to workers’ compensation.
